LORD    CHATHAM 

AND   THE 

WHIG   OPPOSITION 


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THE   MARQUIS   OF    ROCKINGHAM    AND    EDMUND    BURKE. 
From  an  unfinished  picture  by  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  at  the  Fitzwilliam  Museum,  Cambridge. 


LORD  CHATHAM 

AND  THE 

WHIG  OPPOSITION 


BY 

D.  A.  WINSTANLEY,  M.A. 

FELLOW  AND    LECTURER    OF    TRINITY    COLLEGE,    CAMBRIDGE 


CAMBRIDGE: 

AT   THE    UNIVERSITY    PRESS 

1912 


-^  ^  LIBRARY 

-P  H  UNIV]  .MFORXIA 

W  5 


PREFACE 

An  apology,  or  at  least  a  defence,  is  perhaps  necessary 
for  a  work  dealing  with  the  struggle  between  the  whig 
factions  and  the  crown  during  a  very  limited  period  of 
George  III.'s  reign  ;  for  the  party  politics  of  a  bygone 
age,  however  great  their  interest  for  contemporaries, 
are  apt  to  be  somewhat  lacking  in  life  and  reality  for 
those  who,  living  at  a  later  date,  and  absorbed  in  the 
political  controversies  of  their  own  day,  are  disposed  to 
be  somewhat  impatient  of  the  details  of  a  conflict  long 
since  brought  to  a  final  conclusion.  It  is  possible 
that  few  would  deny  that  the  establishment  of  the 
personal  influence  of  the  crown  by  George  III.  had  vital 
consequences  in  English  history  ;  but  there  are  pro- 
bably many  who  would  feel  that  a  close  analysis  of  the 
means  adopted  by  that  king  to  attain  his  end,  of  the 
circumstances  which  favoured  or  retarded  his  progress, 
was  perhaps  unnecessary,  and  most  certainly  tedious. 
It  can  hardly  be  hoped  that  the  following  pages  will 
provide  a  refutation  of  either  of  these  charges  ;  but  the 
responsibility  for  the  failure  rests  upon  the  workman 
and  not  upon  his  material.  Many  are  the  accusations 
which  can  be  brought  against  the  period  which  lies 
between  the  formation  of  Chatham's  ministry  in  July 
1766  and  the  collapse  of  the  whig  opposition  to  Lord 
North  in  the  summer  of  177 1  ;  but  it  can  scarcely  be 
accused  of  lacking  in  either  interest  or  importance. , 
Within  those  few  years  the  destinies  of  the  nation  were 
determined  and  the  work  of  the  Revolution  nullified. 


vi      LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

Never  before  had  the  opponents  of  personal  government 
been  given  such  a  favourable  opportunity  to  thwart 
the  execution  of  the  royal  schemes  ;  and  yet  they  failed 
hopelessly.  It  was  the  king,  and  not  the  whigs,  who 
triumphed  ;  and,  as  Lord  Acton  has  said,  "  about  the 
year  1770  things  had  been  brought  back,  by  indirect 
means,  nearly  to  the  condition  which  the  Revolution 
had  been  designed  to  remedy."  x  The  consequences 
which  flowed  from  that  royal  victory  are  too  well 
known  to  need  particularisation  ;  and  it  would  be 
generally  allowed  that  the  history  of  England  might 
have  read  somewhat  differently  if  Grafton  had  fallen 
before  the  onslaught  of  the  whigs,  or  if  North  had  failed 
at  the  outset  of  his  ministerial  career. 

A  contest  so  momentous  can  hardly  be  without 
interest ;  and,  therefore,  an  attempt  has  been  made 
to  give  both  a  record  and  an  explanation  of  the  failure 
of  the  whigs.  For  this  purpose  it  has  been  necessary 
to  concentrate  the  attention  almost  exclusively  upon 
domestic  politics,  and  to  omit  much  well  deserving 
of  close  consideration.  Colonial  history  and  foreign 
policy  have  been  but  very  briefly  touched  upon  ;  and 
if  an  exception  has  been  made  in  the  case  of  the  dispute 
with  Spain  over  the  Falkland  Islands,  this  can  be  justi- 
fied by  the  influence  which  those  negotiations  exercised 
upon  the  parliamentary  conflict.  Such  omissions,  how- 
ever serious  they  might  be  in  a  work  claiming  to 
be  a  history  of  the  period,  may  perhaps  be  pardoned 
in  what  is  more  than  a  study  of  one  particular  aspect 
of  the  time  ;  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  if  something 
has  been  lost  in  comprehensiveness,  something  has  also 
been  gained  in  lucidity. 

It  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  say  a  few  words  about 
some  of  the  manuscript  authorities  that  have  been  used, 

1  Lord  Acton's  History  of  Freedom  and  Other  Essays  (1907),  54-55. 


PREFACE  vii 

well  known  though  they  are  to  all  students  of  the  period. 
The  Newcastle  Papers  in  the  British  Museum  are,  of 
course,  absolutely  essential  for  any  understanding  of  the 
politics  of  the  early  years  of  George  III.'s  reign  ;  and 
historians  have  reason  sincerely  to  lament  the  duke's 
death  in  November,  1768.  Though  neither  an  infallible 
guide,  nor  free  from  personal  prejudice,  Newcastle, 
from  his  position  as  patriarch  of  the  whig  party,  and 
from  his  intimacy  with  the  leading  politicians  of  his 
time,  was  the  centre  of  many  negotiations  and  intrigues  ; 
and  his  correspondence  reveals  not  a  little  of  the  inner 
history  of  the  Rockingham  party.  The  Hardwicke 
Papers,  also  to  be  found  in  the  British  Museum,  though 
perhaps  of  less  importance  for  this  particular  period, 
certainly  cannot  be  neglected  with  safety,  since  they 
include  many  valuable  reports  of  parliamentary  debates, 
and  much  of  vital  interest.  Neither  the  second  Lord 
Hardwicke,  nor  his  two  brothers,  Charles  and  John 
Yorke,  apparently  enjoyed  the  close  confidence  of  the 
Rockingham  whigs  ;  but  as  politicians,  keenly  alive 
to  their  family  interests  and  to  the  critical  character 
of  the  warfare  going  on  before  their  eyes,  they  are  able 
to  tell  us  much  that  we  are  glad  to  know.  Sufficiently 
detached  to  be  able  to  criticise,  and  sufficiently  in- 
terested to  care  to  do  so,  their  judgments  are  often 
sounder  than  those  of  the  politicians  more  actively 
engaged  in  the  struggle  ;  and  as  onlookers,  who  are 
proverbially  reported  to  see  more  of  the  game,  their 
opinions  and  impressions  are  deserving  of  careful  study. 
Moreover,  in  the  same  collection  are  to  be  found  the  two 
accounts  of  the  last  days  of  Charles  Yorke,  compiled 
by  Lord  Hardwicke  and  Mrs  Agneta  Yorke ;  and 
though  these  have  already  been  used  to  very  good 
purpose  by  Mr  Basil  Williams  for  a  most  interesting 
paper    published    in    the  Transactions  of   the    Royal 


viii  LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

Historical  Society,  it  has  been  thought  permissible  to 
narrate  again  a  story  which  must  ever  appeal  to  those 
who  realise  the  tragedy  of  human  life  and  the  vanity 
of  human  ambition. 

Mention  should  also  be  made  of  the  Wilkes  Papers 
in  the  British  Museum,  and  of  the  Pitt  Papers  in  the 
Record  Office.  As  might  be  expected,  the  correspond- 
ence of  Wilkes  throws  little  light  upon  the  designs  of 
the  various  parties  ;  and  his  fragment  of  autobiography 
is  rather  a  revelation  of  his  private  character  than  of 
his  political  activity.  The  more  important  of  the  Pitt 
Papers  have  for  many  years  been  accessible  in  the 
published  correspondence  of  the  Earl  of  Chatham  ; 
but  it  would  be  a  mistake  to  imagine  that  what  has 
not  been  printed  is  without  value.  The  unpublished 
papers  can  be  consulted  with  advantage  and  profit, 
and  should  not  be  disregarded. 

History,  however,  even  the  most  imperfect  repre- 
sentation of  it,  is  never  made  from  manuscripts  alone  ; 
and  to  the  great  historians  of  the  eighteenth  century 
a  debt  of  gratitude  is  owing  from  all  who  have  profited 
by  their  labours.  Lastly,  my  thanks  are  in  a  special 
measure  due  to  my  friend,  Dr  Foakes-Jackson,  of  Jesus 
College,  Cambridge,  who  was  kind  enough  to  read 
my  manuscript,  and  bold  enough  to  play  the  part  of 
the  friendly  but  candid  critic.  For  his  advice  I  am 
sincerely  grateful,  and  I  only  regret  that  the  volume 
is  so  little  worthy  of  the  care  which  he  generously 
bestowed  upon  it. 

D.  A.  W. 

July  191 2 


CONTENTS 


The  Marquis  of  Rockingham  and  Edmund  Burke      Frontispiece 

PAGE 

Preface  .......  v 


CHAP. 

I.  The  Formation  of  Chatham's  Administration 


II.  The  Ministry  on  its  Trial     ....  64 

III.  The  Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Opposition  .  .         114 

IV.  The  Resignation  of  Chatham  .  .  .194 
V.  The  Fall  of  Grafton  .....         242 

VI.  The  United  Opposition  .  .  .  .318 

VII.  The  Downfall  of  the  Opposition     .  .  .         368 

Index  .......         437 


IX 


LORD   CHATHAM   AND   THE 
WHIG   OPPOSITION 

1766-1771 
CHAPTER  I 

THE    FORMATION    OF   CHATHAM'S    ADMINISTRATION 

The  fall  of  the  first  Rockingham  ministry  in  July, 
1766,  brings  to  an  end  a  well-defined  period  in  the 
constitutional  struggle  of  George  III.'s  reign.  Barely 
six  years  had  elapsed  since  the  king  had  come  to  the 
throne,  an  untried  and  inexperienced  boy,  yet  deter- 
mined to  regain  for  the  monarchy  the  influence  which 
it  had  lost  during  the  reigns  of  the  first  two  Hanoverian 
monarchs.  It  was  never  his  intention  to  bring  about 
a  revolution  in  the  government  or  to  trample  under 
foot  the  privileges  acquired  by  the  nation  in  its  con- 
test with  the  Stuarts  ;  but  he  firmly  believed,  and 
with  some  justice,  that  the  politicians,  who  had  driven 
James  II.  from  the  throne  and  excluded  his  son  from 
the  succession,  had  never  intended  to  reduce  the 
kingship  to  a  condition  of  subservience.  The  con- 
stitution had  developed  on  other  lines  than  those  laid 
down  by  the  statesmen  responsible  for  the  Revolution 
settlement ;  and  the  royal  authority  had  been  usurped 
by  a  narrow  oligarchy  which  had  taken  advantage 
of  a  disputed  succession  and  a  foreign  dynasty  to 
acquire  supremacy  in  the  state.  The  whigs  had 
triumphed   over   the   family   which   they   had   placed 


2    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

upon  the  throne  ;  and  when  George  III.  succeeded 
his  grandfather,  the  royal  power  appeared  to  have 
reached  the  very  nadir  of  its  fortunes.  With  some 
bitterness,  and  no  little  truth,  George  II.  had  once 
declared  that  "  ministers  were  kings  in  this  country," 
and  the  cry  was  wrung  from  him  by  bitter  experience. 
Towards  the  close  of  his  reign  he  discovered  that  he 
was  often  obliged  to  take  his  advisers  at  the  dictation 
of  the  house  of  commons,  and  to  give  the  sanction 
of  his  name  to  a  policy  which  he  did  not  approve. 
As  long  as  the  ministers  enjoyed  the  confidence  of 
parliament  they  were  able  to  prevail  against  the 
court  ;  and  George  II.  found  much  food  for  thought 
in  the  contemplation  of  the  difference  between  the 
theory  and  the  practice  of  the  English  constitution. 
He  informed  Lord  Waldegrave  that  "  we  were,  indeed, 
a  very  extraordinary  people,  continually  talking  of 
our  constitution,  laws  and  liberty.  That  as  to  our 
constitution,  he  allowed  it  to  be  a  good  one,  and 
defied  any  man  to  produce  a  single  instance  wherein 
he  had  exceeded  his  proper  limits.  That  he  never 
meant  to  screen  or  protect  any  servant  who  had 
done  amiss ;  but  still  he  had  a  right  to  chuse 
those  who  were  to  serve  him,  though,  at  present, 
so  far  from  having  an  option,  he  was  not  even 
allowed  a  negative."  1 

It  was  left  for  George  III.  to  undertake  the  task 
of  avenging  his  grandfather,  and  to  recover  for  the 
crown  the  authority  of  which  it  had  been  deprived. 
For  this  work  he  had  been  trained  by  his  mother, 
the  dowager  Princess  of  Wales,  and  her  friend  and 
counsellor,  Lord  Bute.  According  to  the  constitu- 
tional doctrines,  in  which  he  had  been  reared,  an 
English  king,  though  obliged  to  rule  in  accordance 

1  Lord  Waldegrave's  Memoirs  (1821),  pp.  132-133. 


FORMATION  OF  CHATHAM'S  ADMINISTRATION     3 

with  the  national  will,  had  never  been  intended  to 
become  the  puppet  of  the  party  predominant  in 
parliament.  It  was  the  duty  of  the  sovereign  to  lead 
rather  than  to  follow,  and  the  functions  of  the  house 
of  commons  were  those  of  a  guardian,  not  those  of 
a  dictator.  It  was  for  the  king  to  choose  his  own 
advisers  ;  and  it  was  incumbent  upon  parliament  to 
support  the  ministers  of  the  crown,  unless  they  were 
guilty  of  a  breach  of  the  law  or  proved  themselves  so 
incompetent  as  to  render  their  removal  a  matter  of 
urgent  necessity.  George  III.  was  not  slow  to  imbibe 
these  tenets,  and  ascended  the  throne  with  a  fully 
formed  determination  to  rescue  the  royal  prerogative 
from  the  decay  into  which  it  had  fallen.  He  was 
resolved  to  govern  as  well  as  to  reign,  and  he  had  not 
been  king  many  days  before  his  advisers  discovered 
that  they  were  intended  to  be  servants  of  the  crown 
in  something  more  than  name.  For  the  first  time, 
since  the  accession  of  the  Hanoverian  dynasty,  the 
supremacy  of  the  whig  party  seemed  in  danger  of 
destruction ;  and  when  all  men  thought  that  the 
power  of  the  crown  had  passed  away,  never  to  revive, 
the  court  once  more  became  the  spring  and  centre 
of  political  life. 

That  there  should  be  a  reaction  against  the  whig 
rule  is  not  surprising.  Possessed  of  the  charm  of 
youth,  dignified  in  bearing,  and  graceful  in  manner,1 
George  III.  was  more  likely  to  be  the  subject  of  loyal 
adoration  than  his  grandfather  who  had  never  suc- 
ceeded in  winning  the  affection  of  the  nation  whose 
welfare,  nevertheless,  he  sincerely  sought.     The  first 

1  "  The  young  king,"  wrote  Horace  Walpole,  "  you  may  trust  me,  who  am 
not  apt  to  be  enamoured  with  royalty,  gives  all  the  indication  imaginable 
of  being  amiable.  His  person  is  tall  and  full  of  dignity  ;  his  countenance 
florid  and  good-natured  ;  [his  manner  graceful  and  obliging."  Walpole's 
Letters,  4,  449-452. 


4     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

of  his  family  to  be  born  and  bred  in  this  country,  the 
young  king  could  claim  to  be  an  Englishman,  if  not 
by  birth,  at  least  by  education  ;  and  the  nation,  which 
had  long  been  weary  of  the  undisguised  preference  of 
its  rulers  for  their  German  dominions,  welcomed  with 
enthusiasm  a  sovereign  who  was  at  least  a  master  of 
the  tongue  of  his  subjects.  The  political  value  of  the 
outburst  of  loyalty,  which  usually  greets  a  new  occupant 
of  the  throne,  must  not,  however,  be  exaggerated  ; 
and  it  is  perhaps  of  greater  moment  that  the  king 
could  count  upon  a  certain  measure  of  interested 
support  for  his  design  of  restoring  the  royal  preroga- 
tive. Recruits  for  the  cause  were  likely  to  be  forth- 
coming from  those  who,  under  the  whig  domination, 
had  either  been  driven  from  office  or  forced  to  spend 
the  best  years  of  their  lives  in  the  wilderness  of  opposi- 
tion. Men  of  this  type  were  ready  enough  to  rally 
round  the  throne  in  hope  of  profit  or  revenge  ;  whilst 
there  were  not  a  few  who,  actuated  by  a  purer  motive, 
regarded  the  subservience  of  the  crown  to  one  political 
faction  as  a  gross  perversion  of  the  English  constitu- 
tion. The  supremacy  of  the  whig  party  had  been  too 
oppressive  to  pass  unchallenged  ;  and  Bolingbroke,  by 
his  famous  pamphlet,  "  The  Idea  of  a  Patriot  King," 
had  prepared  the  way  for  George  III.  It  is  fashion- 
able to  decry  Bolingbroke's  political  philosophy,  and 
to  depict  him  as  the  baffled  adventurer  seeking  to 
poison  the  sources  of  political  life ;  but  in  the  argu- 
ments which  he  advanced,  in  the  most  famous  of  his 
works,  there  is  more  truth  and  cogency  than  has  often 
been  allowed.  It  is  impossible  to  deny  the  justice 
of  his  denunciations  of  the  political  morality  of  the 
age ;  and  when  he  called  upon  the  monarchy  to  rescue 
the  country  from  the  slough  of  corruption  into  which 
it  had  fallen,  it  was  not  with  the  intention  of  restoring 


FORMATION  OF  CHATHAM'S  ADMINISTRATION     5 

the  absolutism  of  the  Stuarts,  but  of  bringing  about 
an  alliance  between  the  crown  and  the  nation,  in  order 
to  effect  the  downfall  of  an  immoral  system  of  govern- 
ment. An  experienced  controversialist  and  a  most 
attractive  writer,  Bolingbroke  was  able  to  persuade 
by  the  lucidity  of  his  argument  and  the  grace  of  his 
style  ;  and  when  George  III.  came  to  the  throne, 
men  had  been  taught  to  expect  salvation  from  the 
court,  and  were  not  surprised  to  find  that  their  new 
ruler  was  disinclined  to  be  content  with  that  narrow 
sphere  of  influence  to  which  his  predecessor  had  been 
restricted.1 

Yet,  when  every  allowance  has  been  made  for 
favouring  circumstances,  it  remains  true  that 
George  III.'s  initial  efforts  were  rewarded  with  a  far 
greater  degree  of  success  than  could  possibly  have 
been  anticipated  by  the  most  optimistic  partisans  of 
the  royal  prerogative.  Contemporaries  were  astonished 
at  the  ease  with  which  the  youthful  sovereign  over- 
came obstacles  which  had  proved  too  formidable  for 
his  more  experienced  predecessor.  His  campaign 
against  the  whig  oligarchy  was  naturally  not  un- 
chequered  by  disaster,  and  at  times  he  found  himself 
obliged  to  undergo  humiliations  which  his  grand- 
father had  never  known  ;  but  this  is  a  lot  common 
to  those  who  embark  upon  novel  and  dangerous 
ventures,  and  the  checks  which  he  encountered  never 
caused  him  to  waver  in  his  purpose.  His  persistence 
was  rewarded  with  victory.  The  famous  coalition 
ministry  of  Pitt  and  Newcastle,  which  had  raised 
England  to  a  pinnacle  of  glory,  not  attained  since  the 
days  when  the  genius  of  Marlborough  had  humbled 

1  It  is  intimated,"  wrote  Horace  Walpole,  three  days  after  the  death  of 
George  II.,  "  that  he  means  to  employ  the  same  ministers,  but  with  reserve 
to  himself  of  more  authority  than  has  lately  been  in  fashion."  Walpole's 
.Letters,  4,  444-447. 


6     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

the  pride  of  the  proudest  of  French  kings,  fell  before 
the  first  assaults  of  the  boy  upon  the  throne.  A 
victory  over  such  opponents,  so  early  in  the  reign, 
could  not  but  redound  to  the  credit  of  the  crown  ; 
for  Pitt  was  by  far  the  most  popular  statesman  of  the 
day,  and  Newcastle  enjoyed  a  well-deserved  reputation 
for  being  one  of  the  most  successful  of  party  managers. 
Thus  it  was  against  experienced  veterans  that  the 
king  gained  his  first  triumph,  and  the  attack  had  not 
been  made  merely  to  demonstrate  the  strength  of  the 
royal  authority.  From  the  day  that  he  succeeded 
his  grandfather,  the  king  had  intended  that  his 
favourite,  the  Earl  of  Bute,  should  be  the  first 
minister  ;  and  when  Newcastle  was  driven  to  resign 
in  the  spring  of  1762,  Bute  was  chosen  to  succeed 
him  as  first  lord  of  the  treasury. 

No  more  striking  testimony  could  have  been  given 
to  the  new  order  inaugurated  by  George  III.  than  the 
rapid  rise  of  Lord  Bute  to  high  office  in  the  state. 
Regarded  as  an  alien  by  the  whig  oligarchy  which 
had  hitherto  enjoyed  a  monopoly  of  power,  distasteful, 
both  as  a  Scotchman  and  a  friend  of  the  king,  to  a 
nation  which  has  never  loved  its  northern  neighbours 
and  has  always  been  opposed  to  royal  favourites, 
Bute  rose  to  supremacy  in  the  cabinet  solely  through 
the  influence  of  the  crown.  He  had  few  qualifica- 
tions for  administrative  office,  being  neither  a  ready 
debater  nor  a  far-sighted  statesman  ;  and  although 
his  political  ability  has  been  unduly  depreciated,  his 
warmest  admirers  have  never  contended  that  it  was 
of  such  a  character  as  to  justify  his  meteoric  rise  to 
power.  Conscious  of  his  own  defects,  aware  of  his 
deficiencies  in  the  art  of  managing  men,  he  shrank 
from  political  responsibility  ;  and  it  is  to  his  credit 
as   a   man,  if  not  as  a  statesman,  that  it  was  only 


FORMATION  OF  CHATHAM'S  ADMINISTRATION     7 

genuine,  if  mistaken,  affection  for  the  king,  his  master 
and  pupil,  that  led  him  to  essay  a  task  for  which  he 
knew  himself  to  be  intellectually  unfit.  With  but  a 
scanty  personal  following  in  parliament,  the  mark 
for  the  hatred  of  the  people  who  regarded  him  as  a 
Scotch  adventurer  preying  upon  the  wealth  of  England, 
Bute  was  emphatically  the  king's  minister,  solely 
dependent  upon  the  royal  favour.1  In  the  reign  of 
George  II.,  Carteret,  one  of  the  ablest  men  in  an  age 
when  the  standard  of  ability  was  high,  had  been  un- 
able to  maintain  himself  in  office,  though  warmly 
supported  by  the  court  ;  but  where  George  II.  had 
failed,  his  youthful  successor  triumphed.  The  in- 
fluence of  the  crown  proved  sufficient  to  uphold  Bute 
against  attacks  in  parliament  and  the  virulent  on- 
slaught of  the  opposition  press  ;  and  he  was  able  to 
conduct  a  difficult  and  tortuous  negotiation  with 
France,  which  resulted  in  the  conclusion  of  peace  with 
that  country  and  the  withdrawal  of  England  from  the 
Seven  Years  war. 

He  has  been,  indeed,  most  adversely  criticised  for 
conceding,  in  his  anxiety  for  peace,  more  favourable 
terms  to  France  than  the  course  of  the  war  justified  ; 
and  not  a  few  historians  have  been  blinded,  by  their 
dislike  of  his  policy,  to  the  difficulties  of  the  task 
which  he  accomplished.  It  may  be  that  it  might 
have  been  better  for  England  if  he  had  never  taken 
office,  but  he  at  least  succeeded  in  attaining  the  goal 
which  he  sought,  in  spite  of  obstacles  which  at 
times  threatened  to  prove  insuperable.     Without  any 

1  As  is  well  known,  George  III.,  on  the  very  first  day  of  his  reign,  offered 
to  make  Bute  secretary  of  state  ;  and  when,  six  months  later,  the  royal 
favourite  accepted  that  office,  it  was  only  with  the  very  greatest  reluctance. 
"  Each  fond  wish  of  my  heart,"  he  informed  the  king,  "  crys  out  against  this 
important  change,  but  duty  and  gratitude  condemns  one  to  the  trial.  I 
make  it  then,  but  not  without  violent  emotions  and  unpleasant  forebodings." 
Add.  MS.,  36797,  f.  47. 


8    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

previous  experience  of  administrative  life,  intensely 
unpopular  with  the  nation,  and  often  obliged  to  meet 
and  overcome  the  attacks  of  his  colleagues  in  the 
cabinet,  Bute  did  not  purchase  his  success  cheaply  ; 
but,  if  the  conclusion  of  the  Peace  of  Paris  testifies 
to  the  perseverance  of  the  servant,  it  equally  bears 
witness  to  the  influence  of  the  master.  Deprived  of 
the  favour  and  confidence  of  the  crown,  the  minister 
would  have  quickly  fallen  a  prey  to  his  many  enemies  ; 
and  when  he  retired  in  the  spring  of  1763,  it  was  not 
because  he  was  unable  to  command  a  majority  in  the 
house  of  commons,  but  because  his  work  was  done. 
He  had  taken  office  in  order  to  extricate  the  country 
from  an  exhausting  conflict,  and,  having  attained 
his  end,  he  laid  down  the  distasteful  burden  of 
administration. 

His  place  at  the  treasury  was  taken  by  George 
Grenville  who  resembled  him  in  the  particular  of 
being  neither  the  choice  of  parliament  nor  of  the 
nation,  but  of  the  king.  Politicians,  however,  even 
when  they  sit  on  thrones,  are  often  compelled  to  do 
what  they  can  rather  than  what  they  would  ;  and 
it  was  not  without  serious  misgivings  that  George  III. 
had  selected  Grenville  as  Bute's  successor.  Tenacious 
of  power,  so  lately  acquired,  the  king  was  resolved  not 
to  fall  back  into  the  condition  of  servitude  from  which 
he  had  but  just  emerged  ;  and,  from  the  moment  that 
he  took  office,  the  new  first  minister  discovered  that 
he  was  expected  to  be  obedient  to  the  court  which 
had  created  him.  His  freedom  in  the  construction 
of  his  own  cabinet  was  seriously  restricted,  and  in 
Lord  Shelburne  he  was  given  a  colleague  whom  he 
profoundly  distrusted  and  disliked.  Moreover,  there 
was  a  wide-spread,  and  by  no  means  unfounded,  belief 
that  Bute,  though  he  had  retired  from  the  ministry, 


FORMATION  OF  CHATHAM'S  ADMINISTRATION     9 

intended  to  remain  the  confidential  adviser  of  the 
crown ;  and  that,  if  Grenville  was  the  actor  on  the 
stage,  the  favourite  was  the  prompter  in  the  wings. 
Unconsidered  by  the  nation  which  regarded  him  as 
a  pawn  in  the  royal  game,  and  obliged  to  depend  in 
the  house  of  commons  upon  a  majority  supplied  him 
by  the  court,  Grenville  was  provided  with  the  trappings 
but  denied  the  substance  of  power.  Uninspired  by 
that  personal  affection  for  the  king,  which  had  caused 
Bute  to  seek  no  greater  happiness  than  the  execution 
of  his  master's  will,  and  disinclined  by  disposition  to 
adopt  a  deferential  or  even  a  conciliatory  attitude, 
he  was  ill-adapted  to  acquiesce  in  a  condition  of  gilded 
servitude  ;  and  it  is  not  surprising  that  friction  soon 
arose  between  the  crown  and  the  minister.  If  he  had 
incurred  the  royal  hostility  by  espousing  a  popular 
cause,  much  would  have  been  forgiven  him,  and  he 
might  have  come  down  in  history  surrounded  with  the 
glory  given  to  those  who  fail  in  a  noble  endeavour  ; 
but,  unfortunately  for  his  good  fame,  Grenville  was 
almost  as  objectionable  to  the  nation  as  he  was  to  the 
king.  It  had  once  been  his  wish  to  become  Speaker 
of  the  house  of  commons,  and  it  was  in  an  evil  moment 
for  his  reputation  that  he  consented  to  forswear  his 
ambition.  Few  men  were  more  deeply  versed  in 
parliamentary  law  or  more  punctual  and  methodical 
in  the  despatch  of  business  ;  but  the  very  qualities, 
which  would  have  enabled  him  to  preside  with  dis- 
tinction over  the  debates  of  the  lower  house,  mili- 
tated against  his  success  as  a  statesman.  Stiff  and 
unbending  in  demeanour,  a  tedious  debater,  afflicted 
with  a  pedantry  which  encouraged  him  to  regard 
precedent  and  law  as  above  reason  and  good  sense, 
and  lavishing  upon  details  a  wealth  of  care  and  atten- 
tion which  rendered  him  oblivious  to  wider  and  more 


10   LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

important  issues,  Grenville  was  not  fitted  to  be  the 
ruler  of  a  great  country,  and  could  never  hope  to 
acquire  the  approval  of  either  the  king  or  the  nation.1 
No  sooner  had  he  taken  office  than  his  fall  was  pro- 
phesied ;  and,  if  he  continued  in  power  for  more  than 
two  years,  it  was  not  by  reason  of  his  parliamentary 
strength  or  his  popularity  with  the  country,  but  on 
account  of  the  difficulty  experienced  by  the  king  in 
finding  a  suitable  successor.  Grenville  was,  indeed, 
intolerable,  but  he  was  not  dangerous ;  and  George  III. 
preferred  to  endure  discomfort  rather  than  run  the 
risk  of  diminishing  his  recently  acquired  authority. 

Thus,  though  saddled  with  a  servant  of  whom 
he  would  have  willingly  been  rid,  the  king  could 
legitimately  boast  of  the  success  he  had  achieved.  It 
was  now  abundantly  clear  that,  whereas  in  the  past 
ministers  had  been  able  to  coerce  the  court,  they  were 
now  its  dependents.  The  centre  of  power  had  been 
shifted  from  the  cabinet  to  the  palace ;  and  the 
change  had  been  effected  largely  by  an  adroit  and 
systematic  use  of  the  royal  patronage.  It  is  difficult 
to  exaggerate  the  extent  of  the  resources  of  bribery 
and  corruption  which  remained  to  the  crown  in  the 
eighteenth  century,  or  the  frankness  with  which 
politicians  of  the  time  were  wont  to  demand  a  more 
substantial  reward  for  their  services  than  the  grati- 
tude of  the  country.  It  was  not  only  that  the 
episcopal  bench  was  crowded  with  men  who  had 
earned  promotion  by  services  not  strictly  ecclesiastical, 
and  that  many  a  skilful  time-server  was  rewarded  by 
a  place  among  the  peers  of  England  :  there  were 
numberless  posts  at  court  which  constantly  brought 

1  Dr  Johnson,  with  his  usual  sturdy  common  sense,  remarked  of  Grenville 
that  "  he  had  powers  not  universally  possessed :  could  he  have  enforced  pay- 
ment of  the  Manilla  ransom,  he  could  have  counted  it." 


FORMATION  OF  CHATHAM'S  ADMINISTRATION   11 

their  holders  into  close  contact  with  the  fount 
of  bounty,  and  innumerable  sinecure  places  which, 
once  secured,  dispensed  their  happy  possessors  from 
the  necessity  of  earning  an  honest  livelihood.  Nor 
was  it  only  by  places  and  offices  that  adherents  in 
parliament  could  be  purchased :  men,  who  would 
have  been  seriously  offended  if  their  honesty  had  been 
impugned,  thought  nothing  of  accepting  a  money 
bribe  for  a  vote  given  in  parliament  ;  and  it  was  not 
infrequent  for  a  ministry,  when  closely  pressed,  to 
purchase  a  majority  in  hard  cash.1  Nor  was  this 
torrent  of  corruption  confined  within  the  walls  of 
parliament  ;  for  elections  were  flagrantly  and  openly 
corrupt.  A  certain  proportion  of  the  members  of 
the  lower  house  sat  for  treasury  boroughs,  so  called 
because  they  always  elected  the  nominees  of  the 
government  ;  and  in  Cornwall,  which  returned  forty- 
four  representatives,  and  was  notorious  for  electioneer- 
ing corruption,  the  influence  of  the  crown  was  par- 
ticularly strong.  By  the  end  of  the  century  nearly 
half  the  members  of  the  house  of  commons  were 
appointed  by  private  patrons,2  and  borough  owners 
were  accustomed  to  treat  their  right  of  nomination  as 
a  species  of  property,  saleable  to  the  highest  bidder. 

Thus  it  was  not  difficult  for  George  III.,  if  he  was 
prepared  to  soil  his  hands  by  participation  in  a  dis- 
gusting business,  to  secure  a  house  of  commons 
obedient  to  his  will.  He  had  but  to  proclaim  that 
the  avenue  of  promotion  was  obedience  to  the  court, 
to  dispense  the  royal  patronage  amongst  those  who 

1  Thus  when  during  Walpole's  administration  a  proposal  was  made  to 
settle  an  income  of  one  hundred  thousand  pounds  upon  Frederick,  Prince  of 
Wales,  it  was  reported  that  more  money  was  expended  to  defeat  the  motion 
than  "would  have  answered  the  demand  made  for  the  prince."  Hist.  MSS. 
Comm.  Carlisle  MSS.,  pp.  178,  179. 

2  Porritt's  The  Unreformed  House  of  Commons,  i.  310,  311. 


12   LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

distinguished  themselves  by  their  readiness  to  support 
the  crown,  to  traffic  in  boroughs  like  a  huckster,  and 
to  dispense  the  secret  service  fund  himself  instead  of 
allowing  it  to  be  manipulated  by  his  ministers,  and 
the  eager  crew  of  placemen  would  quickly  rally  round 
the  monarchy.  Neither  genius  nor  statesmanship 
was  required  for  the  formation  of  a  parliamentary 
party  pledged  to  support  any  administration  as 
long  as  it  was  approved  at  court  ;  and  the  cause  for 
surprise  is  not  that  a  youth  upon  the  throne  should 
have  been  able  with  so  little  difficulty  to  attain  his 
end,  but  that  his  predecessors  should  have  permitted 
such  a  sensible  declension  in  the  royal  authority. 
The  riddle,  however,  is  not  difficult  of  solution.  Both 
George  II.  and  his  father  were  too  little  acquainted 
with  English  politics  and  too  much  attached  to  their 
German  dominions,  to  play  an  active  part  in  what 
was  styled  the  management  of  the  house  of  commons. 
Driven  by  fear  of  the  tories,  whom  they  suspected  of 
sympathising  with  the  exiled  Stuarts,  to  give  their 
confidence  to  one  political  party,  the  first  two  kings 
of  the  Hanoverian  line,  in  order  to  safeguard  them- 
selves against  the  Jacobites,  undermined  the  founda- 
tions of  their  own  authority  ;  and  it  was  left  for 
George  II.  to  discover  that  the  whigs  had  used  the 
confidence  of  the  crown  to  establish  a  hold  upon 
parliament  and  secure  themselves  against  the  attacks 
of  either  the  court  or  the  nation.  Permitted  by  the 
king  to  dispense  the  royal  patronage,  to  purchase 
rotten  boroughs,  and  to  buy  votes  in  parliament,  the 
whig  ministers  had  quickly  overshadowed  the  mon- 
archy. Rapacious  placemen,  intent  upon  nothing  but 
to  keep  what  they  had  got,  and  to  acquire  more  if  they 
could,  quickly  perceived  the  drift  of  events  and 
followed  the  ministry  and  not  the  king  ;  and  George  II., 


FORMATION  OF  CHATHAM'S  ADMINISTRATION   13 

at  the  close  of  his  reign,  was  mortified  to  find  that  he 
had  sold  himself  into  slavery  to  a  few  whig  nobles 
who  ruled  the  country  in  his  name. 

The  most  successful  of  these  whig  leaders,  who 
had  thus  reduced  the  monarchy  to  subjection,  was, 
undoubtedly,  Thomas  Pelham-Holles,  Duke  of  New- 
castle. An  important  territorial  magnate,  descended 
through  his  father  from  an  ancient  Sussex  family, 
and  through  his  mother  from  the  Earls  of  Clare,  New- 
castle was  born  to  a  great  political  position,  and, 
espousing  the  whig  cause,  quickly  rose  to  high  office 
in  the  state.  Few  English  statesmen  have  enjoyed 
a  more  prolonged  or  less  interrupted  tenure  of  political 
power  ;  but  with  posterity  he  has  paid  dearly  enough 
for  his  success,  his  name  having  become  a  byword  for 
inefficient  administration  and  wholesale  corruption. 
Historians  have  depicted  him  in  graphic  language  as 
little  better  than  a  dotard  who,  by  dint  of  a  certain 
low  cunning  and  great  wealth,  rose  to  political  eminence ; 
and  his  contemporaries  never  wearied  of  enlarging 
upon  his  lack  of  dignity,  his  childish  inconsequence, 
his  colossal  ignorance,  and  his  absurd  jealousies.  No 
one  would  assert  that  he  was  in  any  way  a  great 
statesman  or  deny  his  many  serious  limitations. 
He  was  often  unduly  suspicious  of  his  closest  and 
most  trusted  friends,  and  was  wont  to  take  offence 
at  imaginary  slights ;  but  the  greatest  statesmen 
are  not  without  shortcomings,  and  Newcastle  has 
suffered  from  being  judged  by  whig  historians  who 
have  chosen  to  consider  him  a  disgrace  to  their  party. 
His  incapacity  as  an  administrator  has  probably 
been  exaggerated,  and  his  unremitting  industry,  in 
the  discharge  of  what  he  believed  to  be  the  business 
of  the  state,  has  not  received  the  recognition  it 
deserves.     Nor  was  he  without  a  certain  measure  of 


14    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

political  insight.  Long  before  Burke  had  preached 
the  necessity  of  a  party  system,  Newcastle  had  prac- 
tised the  same  doctrine,  devoting  all  his  energy  to  the 
formation  of  a  strong  personal  following  in  both  houses 
of  parliament.  He  understood,  far  better  than  many 
of  his  contemporaries,  that  the  natural  outcome  of 
the  Revolution  settlement  was  the  dependence  of 
ministers  upon  parliament  rather  than  upon  the 
crown,  and  he  acted  accordingly.  He  realised  that 
systematic  organisation  was  the  secret  of  political 
success,  and  that,  unless  ministers  were  able  to  count 
with  confidence  upon  the  support  of  the  house  of 
commons,  they  would  inevitably  tend  to  fall  into 
submission  to  the  court.  Such  was  his  contribution 
to  the  practical  philosophy  of  politics  ;  and,  if  not 
the  first,  he  was  by  far  the  most  successful  of  party 
managers.  No  man  was  more  alive  to  the  value  of 
the  loaves  and  fishes  of  public  life  ;  and  he  dispensed 
them  with  a  lavish,  though  discriminating,  hand. 
Possessed  of  estates  in  nine  counties,  and  the  owner 
of  nearly  the  whole  of  Nottinghamshire,  he  was  able 
to  control  elections  over  the  length  and  breadth  of 
England  ;  and  few  men  were  more  adept  in  the  art  of 
borough-mongering  or  more  eager  and  persistent  in 
the  purchase  of  adherents.1  The  episcopal  bench  was 
crowded  with  his  nominees,2  and,  very  often,  a  wealthy 
peer  and  a  humble  exciseman  found  themselves 
strangely  connected  by  a  common  bond  of  obligation 

1  For  a  most  interesting  account  of  the  Duke  of  Newcastle's  electioneering 
methods  see  an  article  by  Mr  Basil  Williams  in  the  English  Historical  Review, 
entitled  "  The  Duke  of  Newcastle  and  the  Election  of  1734."  Vol.  xii. 
pp.  448  ff. 

2  At  his  first  levee,  after  his  fall  from  office  in  1762,  only  one  bishop  was 
present,  though  in  the  days  of  his  greatness  they  had  been  conspicuous  by  the 
regularity  of  their  attendance.  When  this  marked  abstention  was  pointed 
out  to  Newcastle,  he  wittily  declared  that  "  bishops,  like  other  men,  are  apt 
to  forget  their  Maker." 


FORMATION  OF  CHATHAM'S  ADMINISTRATION    15 

to  the  great  whig  duke.  In  return  for  what  he  gave, 
he  only  asked  that  the  recipients  of  his  bounty  should 
answer  to  the  call  of  the  party  and  support  him  in 
parliament  ;  and  the  politicians  of  the  day  were  not 
averse  to  enriching  themselves  upon  such  easy  terms. 
Nor  was  Newcastle  left  unrewarded  for  his  prescience 
and  industry,  for  both  George  II.  and  William  Pitt 
had  occasion  to  regret  the  unbounded  influence  which 
the  duke  had  been  allowed  to  acquire  over  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  nation. 

Yet,  impressive  as  was  the  edifice  which  Newcastle 
had  reared,  its  foundations  were  of  sand.  He  had 
gained  a  parliamentary  following,  not  by  the  ability 
of  his  statesmanship  or  the  force  of  his  personality, 
but  by  bribery  and  corruption  ;  and  was  not  so  much 
the  leader  of  a  party  as  the  captain  of  a  band  of  mer- 
cenaries. His  followers  had  no  common  belief,  no 
common  political  principles,  and  if  they  remained  faith- 
ful to  him,  it  was  because  they  hoped  to  profit  by  their 
loyalty.  Deprived  of  the  right  of  dispensing  the  royal 
patronage,  Newcastle  would,  indeed,  be  a  shorn  Samson  ; 
and  no  sooner  had  George  III.  ascended  the  throne 
than  the  duke  discovered  the  insecurity  of  the  founda- 
tions upon  which  his  power  rested.  The  placemen, 
who  had  fawned  upon  him  in  the  days  of  his  greatness, 
now  turned  to  the  court,  and  were  as  eager  to  follow 
the  king  as  they  had  been  in  the  past  to  follow  the 
minister.  Parliament,  which  remained  as  corrupt  as 
before,  was  now  tied  by  gold  chains  about  the  throne  ; 
and,  under  normal  conditions,  the  king  had  no  call 
to  fear  the  opposition  of  the  house  of  commons.  To 
excuse  the  change,  that  had  thus  been  effected,  there 
was  much  talk  of  the  usurpation  of  oligarchy,  and  of 
the  king's  right  to  remunerate  his  servants  ;  but  the 
phrases  of  courtiers  and  political   philosophers  were 


16   LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

but  a  scanty  veil  to  conceal  the  substantial  truth 
that  there  had  been  something  little  short  of  a  con- 
stitutional revolution,  the  significance  of  which  could 
not  be  measured  by  the  ease  with  which  it  had  been 
effected.  No  longer  could  parliament  be  considered 
an  effective  check  upon  the  despotic  tendencies  of 
the  crown,  since  the  astute  policy  of  George  III.  had 
rendered  the  Bill  of  Rights  and  the  Act  of  Settlement, 
which  had  been  framed  with  the  intention  of  sub- 
jecting the  monarchy  to  the  national  will,  almost 
constitutionally  valueless.  Parliament,  which  had 
previously  been  the  puppet  of  the  whig  nobility,  now 
became  the  slave  of  the  court.  By  preying  upon  the 
weakness  of  mankind,  and  cynically  indifferent  to 
the  morality  of  public  life,  George  III.  had  conquered 
where  better  and  more  scrupulous  men  might  have 
failed ;  and,  though  he  may  be  guiltless  of  the  remark, 
with  which  he  is  credited,  that  "  we  must  call  in  bad 
men  to  govern  bad  men,"  the  epigram  is  a  true  de- 
scription of  his  contribution  to  the  art  of  government. 
He  had  defeated  Newcastle  with  his  own  weapons,  the 
boasted  strength  of  the  whig  party  had  crumbled  away 
into  dust  ;  and  the  royal  authority,  no  longer  obscured 
by  the  clouds  of  faction,  shone  forth  in  undiminished 
splendour. 

Yet,  all  men  were  not  blind  or  indifferent  to  the 
policy  pursued  by  the  court,  and  if  many  were  regard- 
less of  what  was  happening  or  only  thought  to  make 
use  of  it  to  promote  their  own  interests,  there  was 
one  at  least  who  understood  that  the  constitution 
was  confronted  by  a  danger  as  great  as  any  as  had 
threatened  to  overwhelm  it  in  the  previous  century. 
It  was  he  who  had  suffered  most  by  the  change. 
Though  defeated,  Newcastle  remained  true  to  the 
principles  he  had  professed  when  in  power  ;    and,  in 


FORMATION  OF  CHATHAM'S  ADMINISTRATION   IT 

opposition,  as  in  place,  constituted  himself  the  champion 
of  the  party  system  so  deftly  attacked  by  the  court. 
Though  it  was  loudly  and  repeatedly  proclaimed  that 
the  country  would  never  know  good  government 
until  ministers  were  selected,  not  on  account  of  their 
political  connections  or  their  following  in  parliament, 
but  by  reason  of  their  capacity  for  administration, 
Newcastle  was  content  to  adhere  to  the  doctrines 
which  he  had  learnt  in  his  youth,  and  practised  with 
so  much  effect  ;  and  no  sooner  had  he  been  driven 
from  office  than  he  set  to  work  to  form  an  opposition 
party  to  the  court,  recruiting  his  followers  from  the 
scanty  few  who  were  not  prepared  to  sacrifice  every 
conviction  on  the  altar  of  their  own  advancement. 
This  little  band,  which  came  to  be  known  by  the  name 
of  the  Rockingham  whigs,  but  of  which  Newcastle 
was  the  founder,  fought  for  a  constitutional  principle 
which  seemed  in  the  way  of  becoming  obsolete.  Instead 
of  administrations,  lacking  in  unity,  composed  of 
men  of  widely  different  political  opinions  and  un- 
accustomed to  work  together,  Newcastle  and  his 
supporters  believed  that  a  really  efficient  government 
should  be  representative  of  one  party  in  the  state, 
and  dependent,  not  upon  the  crown,  but  upon  its  own 
adherents  in  parliament.  It  is  true  that  their  con- 
ception of  a  political  party  was  far  narrower  and 
more  oligarchic  than  would  be  tolerated  at  the  present 
day,  and,  though  willing  enough  to  have  the  nation 
on  their  side,  they  had  little  thought  of  widening  the 
confined  aristocratic  circle  in  which  they  habitually 
moved  ;  but  it  should  be  remembered  that  this  tend- 
ency to  exclusiveness  was  in  accordance  with  con- 
temporary opinion  which  regarded  government  as  an 
essentially  aristocratic  art,  and  that  the  vices  incidental 
to  oligarchy  were  blended  with  real  political  virtues. 


18    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

If  they  can  be  accused  of  attempting  to  wrest  power 
from  the  crown  in  order  to  acquire  it  for  themselves, 
it  ought  not  to  be  forgotten  that  they  were  contending 
for  a  system  of  government  which  has  become  an 
essential  element  of  parliamentary  life.  In  an  age 
when  open  war  was  declared  upon  the  party  system, 
they  defended  it ;  and  their  efforts  have  received 
scanty  recognition.  It  is  too  often  overlooked  that 
if  George  III.  was  fighting  for  a  principle,  so  were  his 
opponents.  It  was  a  clash  of  differing  and  opposite 
constitutional  ideals,  a  new  phase  of  the  old  struggle 
between  the  monarchy  and  the  nation. 

The  contest  may  be  said  to  have  begun  in  the 
autumn  of  1762,  when  the  preliminaries  of  peace  with 
France  were  submitted  to  parliament  and  were  at- 
tacked by  Newcastle's  recently  formed  opposition 
party.  The  challenge,  thus  thrown  down,  was  quickly 
taken  up  by  the  court,  and  the  men,  who  had  dared 
]  to  oppose  the  peace  which  Bute  and  the  king  approved, 
were  punished  for  their  audacity.  Newcastle  was 
deprived  of  his  lord  lieutenancies,  and  a  political 
persecution  set  on  foot,  expressly  designed  to  stifle 
the  opposition  in  its  birth.  The  exercise  of  the  parlia- 
mentary function  of  criticism  was  treated  as  a  traitor- 
ous insurrection  against  the  crown  ;  and  the  persecu- 
tion, which  would  have  been  sufficiently  iniquitous 
if  confined  to  those  who  had  taken  an  active  part  in 
opposing  the  peace,  was  rendered  additionally  shame- 
ful by  being  extended  to  humble  dependents  of  the 
great  whig  leaders.  Neither  great  nor  small  were 
spared,  and  holders  of  small  places  under  government 
were  driven  from  their  employments  for  no  other 
offence  than  that  they  had  received  their  preferment 
from  the  men  who  had  dared  to  rebel  against  the 
court.     Yet  the  politicians,  who  had  had  the  courage 


FORMATION  OF  CHATHAM'S  ADMINISTRATION    19 

to  embark  upon  such  a  dangerous  enterprise,  were 
not  to  be  turned  aside  by  the  first  disaster  ;  and  for 
three  years  Newcastle  marshalled,  if  he  did  not  lead, 
the  forces  of  opposition  to  the  crown.  His  allies, 
though  numerically  insignificant,  were  worthy  of  the 
cause  they  had  espoused,  for  among  them  are  to  be 
found  some  of  the  most  honourable  and  distinguished 
statesmen  of  the  day.  William  Cavendish,  fourth 
Duke  of  Devonshire,  and  Philip  Yorke,  first  Earl  of 
Hardwicke,  had  both  played  for  many  years  a  leading 
part  in  the  world  of  politics,  and  it  was  no  slight  blow 
to  George  III.  that  they  refused  to  abjure  their  prin- 
ciples and  enlist  under  his  banner.  But,  valuable 
as  their  services  might  have  been  to  the  opposition 
in  the  constitutional  struggle,  for  Devonshire  was 
deservedly  renowned  for  his  probity,  and  Hardwicke 
justly  famous  for  his  extensive  legal  learning,  it  was 
hardly  likely,  seeing  that  they  were  both  well  advanced 
in  years  when  George  III.  ascended  the  throne,  that 
they  would  long  be  able  to  endure  the  heat  and  burden 
of  the  battle.  Both  were  taken  by  death  in  the  year 
1764,  and  the  loss,  though  great,  was  not  unexpected. 
The  future  of  the  party  lay  with  its  younger  members 
and  its  more  recent  recruits,  with  those  who  had  never 
known  the  whig  cause  in  the  days  of  its  greatness, 
but  were  prepared  to  fight  for  it  in  the  hour  of  dis- 
aster. Youth  is  the  season  of  heroic  opposition  and 
high  endeavour,  and  it  is  not  surprising  that  many 
young  nobles,  removed  by  their  wealth  and  their 
social  position  from  the  temptation  of  succumbing 
to  the  insiduous  influence  of  the  crown,  elected  to  join 
Newcastle  in  his  arduous  campaign. 

The  most  important  and  influential  of  these  allies 
were  the  Duke  of  Grafton  and  the  Marquis  of  Rocking- 
ham.    Grafton,  very  largely  because  at  a  later  date 


20    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

he  was  unfortunate  enough  to  incur  the  vitriolic 
hatred  of  Junius,  has  acquired  an  evil  reputation  both 
as  a  man  and  as  a  politician.  As  generally  depicted, 
the  licentiousness  of  his  private  life  was  only  exceeded 
by  his  incapacity  as  a  statesman  ;  and  his  most  partial 
critics  would  hardly  deity  that  his  defects  were  many 
and  conspicuous.  Yet,  at  the  beginning  of  his  career, 
he  seemed  likely  to  win  a  name  for  disinterested 
patriotism  and  purity  of  motive.  Careless  of  the 
favour  of  the  court,  placing  his  principles  above  his 
own  advantage,  he  enlisted  under  Newcastle's  banner, 
and  embarked  upon  a  course  of  opposition ;  but 
time  was  to  prove  him  lacking  in  stability  of  purpose, 
and  the  hopes,  which  had  been  based  upon  his  early 
achievements,  were  never  to  find  fulfilment.  If  some- 
thing far  better  than  the  abandoned  voluptuary  and 
tyrannical  debauchee  represented  by  Junius,  his 
career  as  a  statesman  gave  sufficient  colour  to  the 
bitterest  charges  to  render  them  plausible.  Ill-fitted 
for  public  life,  and  condemned  to  pass  through  a  fiery 
ordeal  which  would  have  taxed  the  virtue  of  far  better 
men,  Grafton  suffered  the  fate  of  those  who  shoulder 
a  burden  too  heavy  for  them  to  bear.  Cursed  by  such 
anxiety  to  please  as  to  prefer  to  do  wrong  rather  than 
give  offence,  furnished  with  few  settled  convictions, 
and,  though  anxious  to  do  his  duty,  not  sufficiently 
clear  sighted  to  recognise  where  the  path  of  duty  lay, 
he  became  a  piece  of  wreckage  upon  the  waste  of 
waters,  a  prey  to  the  winds  and  waves  of  time.  He 
passes  down  to  the  political  hell  by  the  road  of  good 
intentions,  and  the  tragedy  of  his  fall  is  rendered  all 
the  greater  by  the  promise  of  his  beginning. 

A  happier  fate  befell  the  young  Marquis  of  Rock- 
ingham who  ultimately  became  the  leader  of  the 
party  which  Newcastle  had  created.     Like  Grafton, 


FORMATION  OF  CHATHAM'S  ADMINISTRATION    21 

Rockingham  shared  many  of  the  tastes  of  the  young 
aristocrat  of  the  period,  and  was  wont  to  be  at  New- 
market when  he  ought  to  have  been  at  the  house  of 
lords  ;  but,  though  sometimes  inattentive  to  business, 
he  never  wavered  in  his  adherence  to  the  whig  cause, 
and  was  content  to  spend  the  greater  part  of  his  life 
in  leading  a  forlorn  hope.  Wealthy,  and  acquiring 
no  little  distinction  from  being  the  only  marquis 
in  the  English  peerage,  Rockingham's  rise  to  political 
eminence  was  much  assisted  by  his  birth  and  affluence  ; 
but  it  would  be  a  serious  error  to  dismiss  him  as  an 
aristocratic  dilettante  in  public  life.  With  every 
temptation  to  spend  the  useless  and  often  vicious  life 
of  the  fashionable  young  man  of  his  day,  he  fought 
the  good  fight  against  the  crown,  and  carried  on  the 
work  which  Newcastle  had  begun.  Scorning  the 
meaner  side  of  public  life,  so  attractive  to  many  of  his 
contemporaries,  sincerely  desirous  of  promoting  the 
welfare  of  the  country,  and  conscientiously  convinced 
of  the  truth  of  the  constitutional  ideals  for  which  he 
fought,  there  is  much  to  admire  in  his  career  ;  but 
the  charm  of  his  private  life,  and  the  many  attractive 
traits  in  his  character,  cannot  obscure  the  truth  that 
he  had  many  defects  as  a  statesman,  and  was  but  ill- 
fitted  to  accomplish  the  task  which  he  had  so  heroically 
undertaken.  He  was  not  cast  by  nature  to  endure 
the  heat  and  burden  of  a  constitutional  struggle,  and, 
in  a  more  democratic  age,  it  is  unlikely  that  he  would 
have  ever  emerged  from  comparative  political  ob- 
scurity. Shy,  and  of  a  retiring  disposition,  rarely 
taking  part  in  debate,  and  always  reluctant  to  stand 
in  the  fore  of  the  battle,  Rockingham  could  win  re- 
spect, but  was  unable  to  inspire  either  fear  or  admira- 
tion. The  courage,  which  steeled  him  to  persevere 
in  a  seemingly  hopeless  contest,  was  not  always  united 


22    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

with  the  wisdom  to  select  the  best  mode  of  attack , 
or  the  insight  which  would  have  enabled  him  to  see 
the  weak  points  in  his  adversary's  armour.  Though 
in  much  superior  to  Newcastle,  he  was  infinitely  be- 
neath him  as  a  party  manager  ;  and  when  the  old 
duke  died  in  1768,  the  whig  party  suffered  a  greater 
loss  than  has  often  been  admitted.  Youth  is  not 
inclined  to  overrate  the  value  of  the  experience  of 
age  ;  and,  like  many  a  young  man,  Rockingham  was 
disposed  to  minimise  the  dangers  which  beset  his  path, 
and  was,  therefore,  consequently  sometimes  guilty  of 
serious  blunders  and  tactical  mistakes.  His  greatest 
admirers  have  been  forced  to  allow  that  as  a  leader 
he  was  often  singularly  ineffective  ;  and  that,  though 
the  end  at  which  he  aimed  was  generally  right,  the 
methods  he  pursued  were  sometimes  open  to  criticism. 
Nor  were  his  political  associates  of  such  eminence  as 
to  compensate  for  the  shortcomings  of  their  leader. 
The  Duke  of  Portland,  Sir  William  Meredith,  Sir  George 
Savile,  and  William  Dowdeswell  never  emerged  from 
the  second  rank  of  politicians  in  which  nature  had 
placed  them  ;  and,  if  in  Edmund  Burke  the  party 
was  given  a  genius  of  the  first  order,  that  great  Irish- 
man did  not  take  his  seat  in  parliament  until  the  year 
1766,  and  was  too  accustomed  to  dwell  in  the  altitudes 
of  the  intellect  to  be  really  successful  in  the  rude 
warfare  of  parliamentary  life. 

Thus  the  opposition,  though  numbering  many 
bearers  of  distinguished  names,  and  including  much 
virtue  and  gallantry  in  its  midst,  was  not  over  rich 
in  political  sagacity  ;  and  could  ill  afford  to  lose  the 
wise  counsels  of  a  Hardwicke  or  a  Devonshire.  Yet 
for  three  years  it  maintained  the  parliamentary  struggle 
against  Bute  and  Grenville,  championing  causes  which 
it  hoped  would  prove  popular,  and  seeking  to  defend 


FORMATION  OF  CHATHAM'S  ADMINISTRATION   23 

the  interests  of  the  nation  against  a  house  of  commons 
which  had  sold  itself  to  the  court.  The  preliminaries 
of  peace  with  France,  the  cyder  tax,  and  the  use  of 
general  warrants  were  attacked,  while  Wilkes,  that 
rather  sordid  champion  of  freedom,  was  defended  by 
men  who  had  nothing  in  common  with  him  save 
hostility  to  the  personal  influence  of  the  crown.  Yet 
the  reward  of  all  these  efforts  was  failure,  and  by  the 
summer  of  1765  the  party  of  opposition  was  weaker 
than  it  had  ever  been  before.  Defeat  following  upon 
defeat  had  extinguished  hope,  and  even  Newcastle 
gave  way  to  despair,  and  retired  for  a  short  time  from 
the  fray.  The  ranks  of  the  party  had  been  thinned 
by  death  and  by  the  desertion  which  is  the  inevitable 
accompaniment  of  a  failing  cause,  and  Charles  Towns- 
hend  was  probably  not  the  only  member  of  the  band 
to  reflect  that  "  he  was  a  younger  brother,  and  if 
nothing  was  to  be  made  out  of  opposition,  or  no 
active  measures  pursued,  he  would  lie  by  this  summer, 
and  consider  himself  at  liberty  to  take  what  part 
would  be  most  convenient  to  him."  x 

The  causes  of  the  failure  are  not  far  to  seek.  As 
long  as  bribery  and  corruption  continued,  as  long 
as  boroughs  were  bought  and  sold,  and  parliament 
was  crowded  with  placemen  who  could  be  deprived  of 
their  livelihood  at  the  royal  will,  an  opposition  party 
was  at  a  very  serious  disadvantage.  Allowing  for  the 
political  morality  of  the  day,  it  is  little  wonder  that 
the  bribes  and  offices,  dispensed  by  the  court,  proved 
too  tempting  for  the  easy  virtue  of  men  who  regarded 
a  political  career  as  an  easy  and  expeditious  way  of 
filling  pockets  emptied  at  Arthur's  or  White's ;  and, 
although  reason  and  good  sense  were  more  often  than 
not  to  be  found  on  the  side  of  the  enemies  of  the  crown, 

1  Add.  MS.,  35361,  f.  95- 


24   LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

the  government  had  little  cause  to  fear  the  force  of 
argument  as  long  as  it  could  count  with  confidence 
upon  the  support  of  the  solid  phalanx  of  placemen. 
Yet,  true  as  it  is  that  Newcastle  and  his  followers 
were  fighting  with  weapons  of  straw  against  arms  of 
iron,  to  attribute  the  success  of  the  ministry  solely 
to  the  power  of  the  purse,  would  be  to  fall  into  the 
mistake  of  explaining  by  a  single  cause  an  event  which, 
indeed,  had  several.  Due  account  must  be  taken  of 
the  often  neglected  fact  that  a  systematic  opposition 
to  the  administration  was  an  irregular  and  novel 
feature  of  the  constitutional  life  of  the  period.  Political 
traditions  die  hard,  and  it  was  still  very  generally 
held  that  it  was  in  accordance  with  the  best  interests 
of  the  nation  to  promote,  rather  than  to  hinder,  the 
task  of  government.  To  thwart  the  ministers  at 
every  turn,  to  oppose  their  measures  for  no  better 
reason  than  that  they  proposed  them,  to  subject  them 
to  an  incessant  shower  of  criticism,  was  regarded  as 
playing  into  the  hands  of  the  enemies  of  England, 
and  as  a  blameworthy  indulgence  in  that  spirit  of  faction 
which  renders  all  good  government  impossible.  Thus 
those  who  attacked  the  court  in  the  early  years  of  the 
reign  of  George  III.  endured  all  the  disabilities  attach- 
ing to  constitutional  pioneers.  The  cause  for  which 
they  fought  was  destined  ultimately  to  triumph,  and 
an  opposition  party  was  to  become  an  indispensable 
element  in  the  parliamentary  life  of  the  country ; 
but  they  were  not  to  reap  the  fruits  of  their  labours, 
and  were  compelled  to  endure  the  burden  of  mis- 
representation. 

Though  fully  aware  of  the  difficulties  of  the  path 
which  they  had  elected  to  tread,  the  whig  leaders 
had  not  been  without  hope  that  victory  might  yet  be 
theirs.     Recent  history  had  shown  that  it  was  some- 


FORMATION  OF  CHATHAM'S  ADMINISTRATION   25 

times  possible  for  the  opposition  to  carry  the  day 
against  the  court  and  the  ministry.  Sir  Robert  Wal- 
pole  who,  whatever  his  faults  as  a  politician,  cannot 
be  charged  with  timidity,  had  been  obliged  to  abandon 
the  excise  bill  on  account  of  the  parliamentary  attack 
upon  it,  and  had  been  induced  by  the  popular  outcry 
to  make  war  upon  Spain  against  his  will  and  his  own 
better  judgment.  Moreover,  the  same  opponents,  who 
had  induced  him  to  abandon  his  much  cherished  policy 
of  peace,  succeeded,  a  few  years  later,  in  driving  him 
from  office  by  depriving  him  of  his  majority  in  the 
house  of  commons.  Historians,  rightly  impressed 
by  Walpole's  sagacity  and  the  recklessness  of  the 
opposition  party,  have  dwelt  too  much  upon  the 
enlightened  policy  of  the  minister  and  too  little  upon 
the  insight  of  his  enemies.  Carteret  and  Pulteney, 
Walpole's  leading  adversaries,  conquered  because  they 
deserved  to  conquer  ;  and,  though  their  cause  was 
evil,  their  skill  was  great.  Understanding  the  con- 
ditions under  which  the  game  of  politics  was  played 
in  their  day,  aware  that  it  was  hopeless  to  expect  to 
prevail  by  force  of  argument  in  a  parliament  which 
had  sold  itself  to  the  government,  they  had  sought 
to  champion  causes  likely  to  be  popular  with  the 
country,  and  to  appeal  from  an  unrepresentative 
house  of  commons  to  the  nation  at  large.  Caring 
little  for  truth,  only  anxious  to  create  a  public  opinion 
antagonistic  to  the  administration,  they  used  the 
press  to  spread  their  own  opinions  and  to  misrepresent 
those  of  the  ministers.  They  succeeded  in  working 
the  country  up  into  a  frenzied  state  of  excitement  over 
the  excise  bill  which  was  represented  as  an  insidious 
attack  upon  the  cherished  liberties  of  Englishmen, 
and  they  did  not  a  little  to  spread  the  cry  for  war 
with  Spain  throughout  the  land.     For  so  doing  they 


26    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

may,  indeed,  be  justly  blamed,  but  it  would  be  unfair 
to  deny  that  they  were  wise  in  their  generation. 
If  they  can  be  accused  of  being  regardless  of  the  true 
interests  of  the  country,  and  of  playing,  for  their  own 
selfish  purposes,  upon  the  ignorance  of  the  mob,  they 
at  least  paid  homage  to  the  force  of  public  opinion, 
and  encouraged  the  belief  that  the  nation  is  the  ultimate 
court  of  appeal.  They  saw  that  when  popular  excite- 
ment ran  high  and  the  conviction  spread  that  the 
ministers  were  guilty  of  inefficiency,  if  not  of  something 
worse,  the  political  system  of  the  day,  based  as  it  was 
on  the  maxim  that  all  men  were  to  be  bought,  was 
apt  to  suffer  a  complete  collapse.  Members  of  parlia- 
ment, for  once  with  the  fear  of  their  constituents  before 
their  eyes,  would  refuse  to  sell  their  votes  to  an  un- 
popular government,  and  the  opposition  party,  with 
an  infuriated  country  behind  it,  would  rise  at  a  bound 
from  insignificance  to  power.  Public  opinion  was  a 
rare  and  intermittent  force  in  the  politics  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century,  but  its  existence  is  testified  by  the 
fall  of  Walpole  in  1742,  and  Newcastle's  similar  fate 
fourteen  years  later. 

It  may  well  be  asked  why  public  opinion  did  not 
come  to  the  aid  of  the  whigs  in  their  contest  with 
George  III.,  for  it  would  be  generally  admitted  that 
they  were  far  more  deserving  of  such  assistance  than 
Walpole's  opponents.  It  is  certain  that,  in  the  early 
years  of  the  reign  at  least,  they  advocated  a  policy 
more  in  accordance  with  the  wishes  of  the  people  than 
the  measures  pursued  by  the  king  and  his  advisers. 
The  peace,  which  they  opposed,  was  intensely  disliked 
by  the  populace  who  believed  that  a  golden  opportunity 
had  been  missed  of  crushing  for  ever  England's  tra- 
ditional enemy ;  and  Wilkes,  whom  the  opposition 
vainly   sought    to   defend   against    the    animosity   of 


FORMATION  OF  CHATHAM'S  ADMINISTRATION   27 

George  III.  and  Grenville,  was  the  object  of  a  popular 
admiration  which  he  was  too  adroit  not  to  use  and  too 
clever  not  to  despise.  Moreover,  the  cyder  tax 
threatened  to  rival  the  excise  bill  in  the  outcry  which 
it  evoked  ;  and  yet,  in  spite  of  these  many  advantages, 
Newcastle  and  his  friends  signally  failed  to  win  the 
country  to  their  side.  The  applause  and  affection 
of  the  people  were  given,  not  to  them,  but  to  William 
Pitt  who  consistently  declined  to  throw  in  his  lot  with 
the  party,  with  which  he  had  much  in  common,  and 
which  sorely  needed  his  help. 

Few  statesmen  have  stood  higher  in  popular  favour 
than  William  Pitt  at  the  accession  of  George  III.  ; 
and  that  he  fully  deserved  the  almost  unique  position 
he  had  won  in  the  affections  of  his  people  is  shown 
by  the  agreement  between  the  judgment  of  con- 
temporaries and  the  verdict  of  history.  That  shrewd, 
if  cynical,  critic  of  mankind,  Frederick  the  Great,  is 
reported  to  have  said  that  England  had  been  long  in 
travail  but  had  at  last  brought  forth  a  man  ;  and  the 
remark  aptly  sums  up  the  impression  created  by  the 
appearance  of  Pitt  upon  the  stage  of  European  and 
domestic  politics.  In  an  age  when  public  life  was 
marred  by  rapacity  and  self-seeking,  when  ideals  had 
vanished,  and  enthusiasm  was  decried,  Pitt  arose  to 
breathe  a  new  spirit  into  a  nation  dying  of  inanition. 
His  greatest  achievement  was  not  the  conquest  of  the 
new  world,  but  the  regeneration  of  England  from  a 
cynical  indifference  to  every  true  and  inspiring  im- 
pulse. He  has  been  well  termed  the  Wesley  of  the 
political  world,  and  if  his  burning  sense  of  patriotism, 
more  akin  to  ancient  than  to  modern  times,  was 
sometimes  tinged  with  the  spirit  of  conquest,  if  he 
was  often  overbearing  towards  his  colleagues,  and 
lacking  in  sympathy  for  those  who  were  not  in  entire 


28    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

agreement  with  him,  these  faults  may  be  forgiven  to 
one  who  did  so  much  for  the  country  whose  interests 
he  always  had  at  heart.  At  the  moment  of  peril, 
when  England,  just  entering  upon  a  war  with  France, 
seemed  likely  to  succumb  to  her  ancient  enemy,  Pitt, 
taking  upon  himself  the  burden  of  government,  in- 
fused an  energy  and  zeal  into  the  administration, 
astonishing  to  a  people  who  had  come  to  expect  any- 
thing of  its  rulers  except  enthusiasm  and  efficiency. 
Brooking  no  opposition,  dominating  alike  the  cabinet 
and  the  house  of  commons,  and  intent  upon  the 
overthrow  of  that  Bourbon  power  which  barred  the 
road  to  English  supremacy  in  the  New  World  and 
the  East,  Pitt,  by  the  activity  and  enterprise  with 
which  he  carried  on  a  world-waged  conflict,  gained  for 
himself  the  admiration  of  every  English  patriot  and 
<for  his  country  the  envy  of  Europe.  Canada  was  con- 
quered, the  French  power  in  India  overthrown,  and 
news  of  English  successes  were  coming  from  all  quarters 
of  the  world  when  George  III.  ascended  the  throne. 
Every  fresh  battle  won,  and  every  new  piece  of  ter- 
ritory acquired  for  the  English  crown,  served  to  swell 
the  reputation  of  the  great  commoner,  as  Pitt  was 
affectionately  styled.  He  had  once  proudly  boasted 
that  he  alone  could  save  the  country,  and  he  had  more 
than  fulfilled  the  pledge ;  and  the  nation,  grateful  for 
what  he  had  done,  and  regarding  him  as  the  only 
statesman  worthy  to  be  entrusted  "with  the  national 
destinies,  placed  him  upon  a  pedestal,  and  fell  down 
and  worshipped  him. 

It  was  impossible  that  such  a  man,  legitimately 
proud  of  the  success  he  had  achieved,  and  strong  in 
the  support  of  the  people,  should  find  it  easy  to  work 
in  harmony  with  a  young  king  determined  to  play 
an  active  part  in  politics  ;    and  George  III.  had  not 


FORMATION  OF  CHATHAM'S  ADMINISTRATION   29 

been  a  year  upon  the  throne  when  Pitt  was  driven 
into  resignation.  Great  was  the  shock  of  his  fall  to 
the  nation,  convinced  that  he  was  the  only  statesman 
worthy  of  a  place  in  the  cabinet  ;  and  in  the  city, 
the  stronghold  of  Pitt's  influence,  the  storm  ran  high 
against  the  court.  It  was  in  vain  that  the  king  sought 
to  appease  the  national  indignation  and  discredit  the 
national  hero,  by  conferring  a  pension  upon  Pitt  and 
a  peerage  upon  his  wife.  Though  the  unworthy  trick 
had  a  temporary  success,  a  few  words  from  the  fallen 
statesman  sufficed  to  still  the  tempest  which  was 
rising  against  him,  and  to  re-establish  the  people  in 
their  idolatry.  Though  out  of  office,  he  was  more 
powerful  than  any  minister  ;  and,  if  he  had  chosen  to 
go  into  opposition,  the  early  years  of  the  reign  of 
George  III.  might  have  been  a  record  of  the  king's 
failure  instead  of  his  success.  Few  men  have  been 
more  favourably  placed  for  leading  a  parliamentary 
attack  :  and  what  had  been  done  by  Carteret  and 
Pulteney  against  Walpole,  might  have  been  effected 
far  more  easily  by  Pitt  against  Bute  and  Grenville. 
It  would  have  been  vain  for  the  ministers  to  promise 
offices  and  dispense  bribes  if  the  great  commoner 
had  been  leading  the  forces  against  them  ;  and,  with 
the  keen  eye  of  an  experienced  party  manager,  New- 
castle read  the  political  situation  aright.  No  sooner 
had  the  duke  declared  himself  an  enemy  of  the  court, 
than  he  perceived  the  necessity  of  enlisting  the  services 
of  Pitt  at  all  cost.  Led  by  the  most  popular  statesman 
of  the  day,  the  Rockingham  Whigs  could  not  be  de- 
nounced as  an  aristocratic  clique  ;  but,  if  he  stood 
aloof,  there  was  scant  hope  that  their  efforts  would 
receive  the  approval  of  the  nation.  And  there  was 
much  to  induce  Pitt  to  throw  in  his  lot  with  the  men 
who  were  so  anxious  to  salute  him  as  their  leader. 


30   LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

Like  them  he  believed  that  Bute  was  intellectually 
unfit  for  high  office  in  the  state,  and  he  never  ceased 
to  denounce  that  peace  with  France,  which  they  had 
been  so  cruelly  punished  for  opposing.  It  is  true  that 
on  certain  questions  there  was  not  complete  agreement 
between  him  and  Newcastle's  followers,  but  the  differ- 
ence of  opinion  was  certainly  not  so  great  as  to  render 
an  alliance  impossible.  And  yet,  in  spite  of  a  harmony 
of  ideas,  greater  than  that  which  often  prevails  in  a 
modern  cabinet,  Pitt,  during  these  critical  years, 
when  the  necessity  of  strengthening  the  attack  upon 
the  government  was  so  urgent,  claimed  the  liberty 
of  a  free  lance,  and  resolutely  declined  to  place  himself 
at  the  head  of  the  opposition  party.  Though  at  times 
when  the  parliamentary  contest  ran  high,  when  vital 
constitutional  questions,  such  as  the  use  of  general 
warrants,  were  under  discussion,  Pitt,  excited  by  the 
lust  of  battle,  would  talk  as  though  he  had  thrown  his 
scruples  to  the  wind,  and  was  prepared  to  enrol  himself 
as  a  regular  member  of  the  opposition,  it  was  never 
long  before  he  resumed  his  independent  attitude, 
and  blasted  the  hopes  which  his  utterances  had  raised. 
By  the  autumn  of  1764  it  had  become  abundantly 
clear  that  he  was  not  to  be  won,  and  even  Newcastle, 
who  had  laboured  more  strenuously  than  any  other 
member  of  the  party  to  gain  the  indispensable  ally, 
abandoned  the  quest  as  hopeless. 

For  his  conduct  during  this  period  Pitt  cannot 
escape  censure.  He  stands  convicted  of  having 
mis-read  the  signs  of  the  time,  and  must  be  judged 
accordingly ;  but,  though  mistaken,  his  policy  was 
not  influenced  by  sordid  or  ignoble  motives.  It  was 
not  the  fear  of  losing  his  pension,  as  Newcastle  and 
Devonshire  uncharitably  believed,1  nor  any  personal 

1  Add.  MS.,  32946,  f.  317,  f.  329. 


FORMATION  OF  CHATHAM'S  ADMINISTRATION   31 

dislike  of  Newcastle,  that  deterred  him  from  going 
into  opposition,  but  a  fundamental  difference  of 
constitutional  opinion.  The  Rockingham  whigs  were 
the  foremost  champions  of  the  party  system  so  fiercely 
attacked  by  the  court,  and  it  was  on  this  point  that 
Pitt  was  in  complete  disagreement  with  them.  Though 
he  had  begun  his  political  career  as  a  reckless  partisan, 
having  been  one  of  the  foremost  and  most  violent  of 
Walpole's  opponents,  he  had  come  to  think  of  his 
earlier  conduct  with  sorrow  and  regret,  and  to  regard 
the  party  system  as  detrimental  to  the  interests  of  the 
nation.  That  ministers  should  be  selected  for  the 
opinions  they  professed  rather  than  for  their  ability 
to  rule,  and  that  the  crown,  in  its  choice  of  advisers, 
should  be  limited  to  the  party  which  had  a  majority 
in  the  lower  house,  now  appeared  to  him  to  be  the 
negation  of  good  government,  and  to  place  the  com- 
paratively trivial  interests  of  a  faction  above  the 
welfare  of  the  state.  It  was  never  his  wish  that  the 
will  of  the  king  should  override  that  of  the  nation, 
but,  believing  the  test  of  good  administration  to  be 
efficiency,  he  desired  that  ministers  should  be  chosen 
irrespective  of  their  political  connections,  and  frankly 
avowed  that  he  would  proscribe  no  man,  whether  whig 
or  tory,  whom  he  thought  likely  to  prove  an  able 
ruler.  "  Men  not  measures  "  became  his  watchword, 
and  the  destruction  of  the  party  system  his  goal  ; 
and  thus  a  wide  and  unbridgeable  gulf  separated  him 
from  those  who,  with  equal  sincerity,  believed  that 
the  party  system  was  something  more  than  a  worth- 
less relic  of  an  age  of  faction,  and  that  a  disunited 
administration  would  be  unlikely  to  exercise  much 
influence  in  parliament  or  resist  the  pressure  of  a 
court. 

It  would  be  grossly  unfair  to  dismiss  Pitt's  opinions 


St    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

as  idle  and  fanciful.  Experience  has  shown  that  the 
system  of  party  government,  even  as  it  is  understood 
at  the  present  day,  is  not  free  from  serious  and  obvious 
defects,  and  the  idea  of  making  administrative  capacity 
the  only  qualification  for  admission  into  office,  has 
always  proved  irresistibly  attractive  to  a  certain  type 
of  mind.  Statesmen,  who  are  emphatically  men  of 
action,  who  are  zealous  for  the  promotion  of  good 
government,  and  desire  to  get  things  done,  are  natur- 
ally impatient  of  an  arrangement  by  which  men,  in  every 
way  qualified,  are  excluded  from  office  and  second- 
rate  politicians  often  entrusted  with  duties  which 
they  are  incapable  of  discharging.  Moreover,  party 
government  in  the  eighteenth  century  was  open  to 
even  more  serious  objections,  for  a  system,  which 
practically  restricted  admission  into  the  cabinet  to 
the  members  of  a  few  noble  families,  was  hardly  to  be 
discriminated  from  government  by  an  aristocracy. 
Few  would  deny  that  under  the  first  two  Hanoverian 
kings  there  was  a  real  danger  that  the  place  of  the 
monarchy  would  be  taken  by  an  oligarchy  ;  and,  if 
Pitt  had  voiced  his  protest  then,  his  appeal,  though 
it  might  have  fallen  upon  deaf  ears,  would  have  re- 
dounded to  his  political  wisdom.  But  he  was  belated 
in  his  attack,  and  at  the  time  he  chose  to  repudiate 
the  party  system,  the  evil  to  be  feared  was,  not  the 
usurpation  of  oligarchy,  but  the  restoration  of  the 
personal  power  of  the  crown.  Without  the  organisation 
which  the  party  system  alone  could  give,  the  unre- 
formed  house  of  commons  lay  at  the  mercy  of  the 
occupant  of  the  throne ;  and,  while  Pitt  believed 
himself  to  be  preparing  the  way  for  sound  administra- 
tion, he  was  really  undermining  a  bulwark  against 
arbitrary  power.  The  Rockingham  Whigs,  mistaken 
as  they  may  have  been  in  much,  were  at  least  fighting 


FORMATION  OF  CHATHAM'S  ADMINISTRATION    33 

for  a  constitutional  principle  of  great  practical  im- 
portance in  their  day,  whereas  Pitt,  seduced  by  a  train 
of  reasoning  which,  whatever  abstract  validity  it  may 
have  possessed,  was  out  of  place  in  the  actual  con- 
ditions of  affairs,  embraced  the  cause  of  the  court, 
and  tilted  against  a  danger  which  had  ceased  to  exist. 
It  is  true  that  Pitt  and  the  king  sought  to  obtain 
different  ends,  the  former  being  desirous  of  ministerial 
efficiency,  and  the  latter  of  ministerial  servitude ;  but 
the  means  they  adopted  were  identical,  both  being  the 
declared  enemies  of  the  party  system ;  and,  widely  as 
they  differed,  time  was  to  bring  about  their  union. 

Six  years,  however,  elapsed  before  this  unhappy 
and  disastrous  alliance  was  concluded.  For  some 
time  George  III.  lived  in  fear  that  he  might  have  to 
face  a  coalition  between  Newcastle  and  Pitt  ;  and  it 
was  not  until  June,  1765,  that  he  fully  grasped  the 
political  situation,  and  understood  how  groundless 
had  been  his  anxiety.  But,  if  slow  to  understand,  he 
was  quick  to  act,  seeing  how  much  would  be  gained  if 
the  most  renowned  and  popular  statesman  of  the  day 
could  be  persuaded  to  enter  the  royal  service.  Pitt, 
as  a  minister,  could  hardly  fail  to  reflect  much  credit 
upon  the  king  who,  having  incurred  no  small  odium 
by  the  promotion  of  Bute  and  the  prosecution  of 
Wilkes,  might  hope,  by  an  alliance  with  the  national 
hero,  to  acquire  the  trust  of  the  nation.  A  speedy 
and  decisive  triumph  might  then  be  anticipated  over 
the  whig  oligarchy  which  was  attempting  to  enslave 
the  monarchy ;  and,  strong  in  the  support  of  the  nation, 
the  king  and  the  minister  would  be  in  a  position  to 
wage  effective  war  upon  the  already  discredited  party 
system,  and  confer  the  blessing  of  good  government 
upon  a  grateful  people. 

It  was  an  attractive  programme,  and  George  III. 


34    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

was  not  reluctant  to  rid  himself  of  Grenville  whom 
he  had  long  found  intolerable,  and  only  endured  lest 
by  a  change  he  might  bring  greater  evils  upon  him- 
self. For  a  time  he  wandered  in  the  dark,  carrying 
on  negotiations  with  the  Rockingham  whigs  and  Pitt, 
whom  he  believed  to  be  allies  ;  but  his  mistakes  were 
not  unprofitable,  inasmuch  as  they  enlightened  him 
as  to  the  actual  political  situation.  Thus,  in  May, 
1765,  ignorant  of  the  fundamental  change  which  had 
come  about  in  Pitt's  opinions,  he  began  a  negotiation 
with  that  statesman  and  the  Rockingham  party ;  and, 
although  he  failed  to  attain  his  end,  he  acquired  in- 
formation which  was  not  without  influence  upon  his 
future  conduct.  The  negotiation  was  brought  to  an 
abrupt  conclusion  by  Pitt  declining  to  take  office,  and, 
probably,  his  refusal  was  dictated  by  an  unwillingness 
to  take  his  place  at  the  head  of  an  administration 
which,  composed  as  it  would  be  of  the  Rockingham 
whigs,  would  stand  for  that  very  party  system  which 
he  had  so  definitely  determined  to  destroy.  This 
interpretation  of  Pitt's  conduct  is,  at  least,  supported 
by  the  action  of  the  king  who,  in  the  following  month, 
made  direct  overtures  to  him,  leaving  Newcastle  and 
his  followers  to  fare  as  best  they  might.  It  is  true 
that  this  negotiation  was  no  more  successful  than  that 
which  had  preceded  it,  but  the  responsibility  for 
failure  rests  this  time,  not  upon  Pitt,  but  upon  his 
brother-in-law,  Lord  Temple.  Though  influential  by 
reason  of  his  great  wealth,  and  of  an  active  and  in- 
triguing disposition,  Temple  was  of  little  real  import- 
ance in  the  political  world,  and  would  have  played  an 
even  more  insignificant  role,  had  he  not  participated 
to  a  certain  extent  in  the  lustre  surrounding  the  great 
commoner  ;  and  no  little  astonishment  was  caused 
by  Pitt  refusing  to  form  a  ministry  because  Temple 


FORMATION  OF  CHATHAM'S  ADMINISTRATION   35 

declined  the  treasury.  It  is  extremely  unlikely  that 
he  exaggerated  the  value  of  Temple's  services,  or  that 
he  was  guilty  of  misplaced  chivalry,  sacrificing  the 
country  in  the  cause  of  private  friendship  ;  and  it 
is  more  reasonable  to  suppose  that  he  needed  Temple, 
not  for  what  he  might  do,  but  for  what  he  might  avert. 
Fearing  that  the  treasury,  which  his  brother-in-law 
had  refused,  might  fall  into  the  hands  of  Newcastle, 
or  some  other  member  of  that  party,  Pitt  preferred  to 
continue  to  eat  the  bread  of  idleness,  rather  than 
play  a  part  in  a  ministry  controlled  by  politicians  with 
whom  he  had  ceased  to  be  in  sympathy.  He  had 
staked  everything  upon  Temple's  willingness  to  take 
office,  and,  when  that  failed  him,  he  had  no  resource 
but  to  confess  himself  defeated.  He  was  the  victim 
of  a  principle,  not  of  a  political  necessity. 

The  country  might  indeed  suffer  from  Pitt's  action, 
but,  for  the  time  being,  the  king  was  in  the  worse 
predicament.  It  was  impossible  for  him  to  return  to 
George  Grenville,  humble  and  contrite  ;  for,  when  on 
previous  occasions  the  king  had  struck  for  freedom, 
and  failed  to  gain  it,  that  ungenerous  minister  had 
displayed  a  tendency  to  chastise  rather  than  pardon 
the  repentant  sinner  ;  and  the  punishment  would  be 
likely  to  be  increased  with  the  repetition  of  the  offence. 
Feeling  that  he  had  sinned  too  deeply  to  be  forgiven, 
George  III.,  pursuing  the  only  safe  course,  put  his 
pride  in  his  pocket,  and  began  a  negotiation  with  the 
whig  opposition,  which  resulted  in  the  formation 
of  the  first  Rockingham  ministry  in  July,  1765.  But, 
though  the  personal  pride  of  the  sovereign  had  been 
affronted,  it  would  be  a  serious  mistake  to  imagine 
that  the  whigs  received  office  as  the  reward  of  victory. 
They  conquered  by  their  weakness  not  \by  their 
strength;    and  both  in  its  origin  and  in  its  ultimate 


36    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

fate,  the  Rockingham  administration  bore  eloquent 
testimony  to  the  influence  of  the  crown.  Few 
cabinets  have  contained  a  larger  proportion  of  states- 
men genuinely  anxious  to  promote  the  interests  of 
their  country,  and  their  efforts  were  certainly  not 
entirely  fruitless.  The  stamp  act,  imposed  upon 
the  American  colonies  by  Grenville,  was  repealed,  the 
obnoxious  cyder  tax  was  abolished,  and  general 
warrants  definitely  declared  to  be  illegal ;  and,  after 
the  fall  of  the  administration,  Burke,  in  a  famous 
pamphlet,  proclaimed  the  great  and  lasting  benefits 
it  had  conferred  upon  the  country.  The  boast  was 
legitimate,  but,  in  a  measure,  beside  the  point ;  for, 
when  all  allowances  are  made,  it  remains  true  that 
the  ministers  had  failed  in  their  first  and  greatest  duty, 
that  of  keeping  themselves  in  power.  When  they 
fell,  after  having  been  a  year  in  office,  the  catastrophe 
was  not  due  to  any  sudden  assault  or  subterraneous 
court  intrigue,  but  to  their  own  inherent  weakness. 
As  the  months  passed  by,  it  became  abundantly  clear 
that  Rockingham  and  his  colleagues  were  engaged 
upon  a  possibly  heroic,  but  a  certainly  hopeless,  under- 
taking :  and  when,  shortly  before  the  end  came,  a 
rumour  was  spread  that  the  ministers  had  been  dis- 
missed, Lord  Albemarle,  one  of  the  most  active  of 
their  supporters,  rejoiced  to  hear  that  his  friends  had 
been  relieved  from  an  impossible  situation.1  The  king 
had  originally  taken  them  into  his  service  because  he 
knew  that  they  had  reached  the  nadir  of  their  fortunes, 
and  could  never  hope  to  prevail  against  him  ;  and  he 
had  judged  aright.  Unable  to  command  a  majority 
in  the  lower  house  without  the  placemen  who  would 
only  lend  their  support  as  long  as  the  ministers  did 
what   was  pleasing  to  the  king,   and  not   daring  to 

1  Add.  MS.,  32975,  f.  414. 


FORMATION  OF  CHATHAM'S  ADMINISTRATION    37 

appeal  to  the  country  at  a  general  election  unless 
allowed  to  use  the  royal  influence  on  their  own  behalf,1 
the  ministers  existed  on  sufferance ;  and  when  George 
III.  withdrew  his  favour,  declining  to  create  peers  at 
their  bidding,  or  to  dismiss  placemen  who  voted  against 
them,2  their  fount  of  life  ran  dry. 

Yet  too  much  stress  should  not  be  laid  upon  the 
king's  hostility,  for  it  is  very  generally  allowed  that 
the  ministry  was  not  so  constituted  as  to  inspire  con- 
fidence, or  to  ensure  a  lengthy  tenure  of  power.  The 
Marquis  of  Rockingham,  who  occupied  the  office  of 
first  lord  of  the  treasury,  was,  at  this  time,  compara- 
tively little  known  in  the  political  world,  and  was  by 
no  means  adapted  for  a  task  which  might  have  taxed 
the  resources  of  the  greatest  statesman  ;  and,  though 
it  is  possible  that  he  received  invaluable  assistance 
from  his  secretary,  Edmund  Burke,  it  may  be  doubted 
whether  the  genius  of  the  servant  compensated  for  the 
inexperience  of  the  master.3  Nor  was  the  Duke  of 
Grafton,  the  secretary  of  state  for  the  northern  de- 
partment, likely  to  supply  his  leader's  deficiencies. 
He  had  all  Rockingham's  inexperience,  and,  moreover, 
was  but  half-hearted  in  his  allegiance  to  the  cause 
he  professed  to  support.  Youthful  and  impression- 
able, he  had  been  smitten  with  an  admiration  for  Pitt, 
which  cast  a  chill  over  his  earlier  enthusiasm  for  the 
whig  party  ;  and  he  had  only  joined  the  administra- 
tion on  the  understanding  that   his  hero  should   be 

1  Add.  MS.,  32969,  ff.  390,  392. 

2  Grenville  Papers,  3,  253-255  ;    Rockingham  Memoirs,  1,  347. 

8  "  The  king  surely  intends,"  wrote  the  second  Lord  Hardwicke  to  his 
brother,  Charles  Yorke,  "  to  put  himself  entirely  into  Mr  Pitt's  hands,  and  he 
as  surely  means  to  break  up  the  present  administration.  If  he  makes  a 
better,  I  for  one  shall  not  be  sorry  for  it,  for  I  have  long  had  my  doubts 
about  the  sufficiency  of  the  present,  and  with  all  the  private  regard  and 
friendship  which  I  have  for  the  noble  marquis,  1  have  seen  the  burden  too 
•weighty  for  his  shoulders,  both  in  council  and  parliament."  Add.  MS.,  35362, 
i.  10. 


38   LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

allowed  to  enter  it  whenever,  and  in  whatever  capacity  7 
he  liked.  Undoubtedly  the  most  experienced  member 
of  the  cabinet  was  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  who,  in 
accordance  with  a  pledge  he  had  given  never  to  hold 
high  office  again,  took  the  subordinate  post  of  lord 
privy  seal;  but  he  was  now.  an  old  man,  beginning 
to  be  a  victim  to  the  infirmities  of  age  ;  and  though 
his  advice  was  often  good,  as  for  instance  when  he 
took  objection  to  the  declaratory  act  which  asserted 
the  right  of  parliament  to  tax  the  American  colonies, 
he  failed  to  exercise  much  influence  over  his  colleagues, 
many  of  whom,  having  been  boys  at  school  when  he 
was  managing  the  affairs  of  the  country,  treated  his 
suggestions  as  the  offsprings  of  senile  decay.  When, 
moreover,  it  is  remembered  that,  besides  the  defects 
incidental  to  what  Newcastle  rather  bitterly  described 
as  "an  administration  of  boys,"  *  there  were  members 
of  the  ministry,  such  as  Northington,  the  lord  chan- 
cellor, and  Barrington,  the  secretary  at  war,  who 
were  frankly  out  of  sympathy  with  the  constitutional 
ideals  of  the  majority  of  their  colleagues,  and  firm 
believers  in  the  extension  of  the  royal  authority,  the 
whigs  may  well  be  charged  with  having  embarked 
upon  a  hopeless  enterprise,  to  which  there  could  be 
no  other  issue  but  disaster. 

Plausible  as  the  accusation  appears,  it  would  yet 
be  unfair,  omitting  as  it  does  certain  important  factors 
in  a  very  involved  situation.  Strange  as  it  may  seem, 
the  Rockingham  whigs  had  a  reasonable  hope  of 
success  when  they  consented  to  take  office  under  the 
crown.  It  is  true  that  they  had  offended  the  king 
by  their  attack  upon  the  peace  with  France  and  their 
defence  of  Wilkes  ;  but  they  might  fairly  hope  that 
they  had  washed   away  their  guilt,  and   earned   his 

1  Add.  MSS.,  32976,  f.  325. 


FORMATION  OF  CHATHAM'S  ADMINISTRATION   39 

gratitude,  by  coming  to  his  assistance  in  the  hour  of 
his  danger,  and  rescuing  him  from  the  clutches  of 
George  Grenville.  Nor  was  it  only  the  shadowy 
hope  of  establishing  a  claim  upon  the  royal  favour 
that  induced  them  to  set  out  on  what  they  knew  to 
be  a  stormy  sea.  Fully  realising  their  own  weakness, 
they  trusted  that,  once  in  office,  Pitt  would  come  to 
their  aid,  and  place  himself  at  their  head.  Upon  him 
rested  all  their  hopes  for  the  future,  and  they  knew 
that,  if  he  elected  to  remain  in  retirement,  they  could 
not  avert  disaster.  Only  if  he  was  included  in  the 
administration  could  they  expect  to  acquire  the  con- 
fidence of  the  nation,  and  thus  secure  a  surer  founda- 
tion for  their  authority  than  the  fickle  favour  of  a 
court  ;  and  it  is  to  their  credit  that  they  strained 
every  nerve  to  induce  him  to  accept  a  place  in  the 
cabinet.  They  sought  to  gain  his  approval  by  pro- 
moting his  friend,  Lord  Chief  Justice  Pratt,  to  the 
peerage  by  the  title  of  Lord  Camden,  and  by  begin- 
ning a  negotiation  for  an  alliance  with  Frederick  the 
Great,  the  loss  of  whose  friendship  he  had  never 
ceased  to  deplore ;  but  they  discovered  to  their 
chagrin  that  the  indispensable  ally  was  not  to  be 
won.  There  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  Pitt's  dis- 
inclination was  due  to  a  reluctance  to  play  an  active 
part  in  politics  ;  for  there  is  ample  evidence  to  show 
that  he  was  ready,  and  even  anxious,  to  resume  the 
burden  of  office,  and  take  upon  himself  the  cares  of 
state.  He  was  wont  to  enlarge  upon  the  dangers 
threatening  the  country,  discontented  at  home  and 
isolated  abroad  ;  but,  though  he  believed  the  national 
danger  to  be  great,  he  refused  to  enter  into  an  alliance 
or  sit  in  the  same  cabinet  with  the  champions  of  the 
party  system.  That  difference  of  principle,  which 
had    prevented    him     from    co-operating    with    the 


40   LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

Rockingham  whigs  when  they  had  been  in  opposition, 
precluded  him  from  throwing  in  his  lot  with  them 
when  they  were  in  power ;  and,  on  the  several 
occasions  that  he  was  approached  by  the  ministers 
for  his  assistance,  he  always  stipulated  for  the  com- 
plete reconstitution  of  the  existing  administration. 
He  made  it  perfectly  clear  that  it  must  be  his  ministry, 
not  the  Duke  of  Newcastle's  or  Lord  Rockingham's. 
The  cabinet  must  be  remodelled  and  transformed  ; 
and  the  ministers  can  hardly  be  blamed  for  refusing 
even  Pitt's  assistance,  necessary  as  it  was,  upon  such 
terms.  They  had  come  into  office  pledged  to  uphold 
the  principles  of  party  government,  and  they  would 
have  sacrificed  their  convictions,  and  betrayed  the 
trust  of  their  followers,  if  they  had  agreed  to  such 
conditions.  It  is  to  their  credit,  both  as  men  and 
statesmen,  that  they  preferred  to  perish  in  the  hopeless 
pursuit  of  victory,  rather  than  purchase  security  at 
the  price  of  dishonour  ;  and  no  shame  attaches  to  their 
defeat.  They  had  fought  for  principles,  not  for 
places,  and  the  battle  was  well  worth  righting,  even 
though  it  ended  in  a  rout. 

For  the  rout  was  inevitable,  and,  by  the  beginning 
of  July,  1766,  the  Rockingham  ministry  was  tottering 
to  its  fall.  The  Duke  of  Grafton,  offended  that  Pitt 
had  not  been  permitted  to  come  into  office  on  his 
own  terms,  had  resigned  the  secretaryship  of  state 
in  the  previous  April,  his  place  being  taken  by  the 
Duke  of  Richmond,  an  appointment  which  was  diffi- 
cult of  justification  unless,  as  Lord  Buckinghamshire 
affected  to  believe,  the  ministers  were  determined 
always  to  have  a  secretary  of  state  of  the  race  of 
Charles    II.1     The    king    disapproved    of    Richmond's 

1Add.  MS.,  22358,  f.  35.     Both  Grafton  and  Richmond  were  descended 
from  illegitimate  children  of  Charles  II. 


FORMATION  OF  CHATHAM'S  ADMINISTRATION   41 

promotion  which  he  complained  had  been  forced  upon 
him  by  Rockingham  ;  and  it  was  in  the  last  degree 
improbable  that  the  new  minister  would  add  to  the 
prestige  of  the  administration.  Moreover,  it  was  re- 
ported that  the  members  of  the  cabinet  were  divided 
amongst  themselves,  that  Conway,  the  secretary  of 
state  for  the  southern  department,  was  constantly 
opposing  Newcastle  and  Rockingham  ;  J  and  although 
it  is  possible  that  these  tales  were  unfounded,  originat- 
ing in  the  malice  of  the  enemies  of  the  ministry,  they 
were  readily  enough  believed,  and  illustrate  the  popular 
reputation  which  the  ill-fated  administration  enjoyed. 
Thus  it  might  be  fairly  urged  that  the  king  was  called 
upon,  in  the  interests  of  the  nation  as  well  as  in  his 
own,  to  dismiss  his  advisers  ;  and  George  III.  was 
now  eager  to  act  upon  such  advice.  He  had,  indeed, 
ample  cause  for  self-congratulation,  for  out  of  the 
storm  and  stress  of  circumstance  he  had  issued 
triumphant.  What  might  be  styled  the  rump  of  the 
old  whig  oligarchy  had  proved  itself  as  ineffective  in 
office  as  it  had  in  opposition  ;  and  the  greatest  states- 
man of  the  day  had  declared  himself  the  enemy  of  the 
party  system,  and  in  political  sympathy  with  the  crown. 
Thus  an  opportunity  was  granted  to  the  king,  which,  if 
missed,  might  never  recur.  The  battle  over  the  royal 
authority  had  begun  on  the  death  of  George  II.,  and 
the  time  had  now  come  to  make  the  final  charge 
which  would  complete  the  overthrow  of  the  enemy. 

It  was  at  the  end  of  June  that  the  ministry  suffered 
the  blow  which  was  to  be  the  cause  of  death.  When 
the  ministers  assembled  at  Northington's  house  to 
discuss  a  plan  for  the  government  of  the  recently 
acquired  possession  of  Canada,  the  lord  chancellor 
declined  to  proceed  with  the  business  in  hand,  com- 

1  Grenville  Papers,  3,  255-258. 


42    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

plained  with  some  asperity  of  the  treatment  he  had 
received,  and  ominously  remarked  that  he  proposed 
to  discontinue  his  attendance  at  cabinet  meetings.1 
It  is  extremely  unlikely  that  this  declaration  was 
unconsidered,  or  evoked  by  a  sudden  gust  of  passion. 
Northington  must  have  long  been  weary  of  a  govern- 
ment which  he  disliked  for  its  opinions  and  despised 
for  its  weakness  ;  and,  if  his  action  had  not  been 
previously  concerted  with  the  court,  he  was  fully 
aware  how  heartily  it  would  be  approved  in  that 
quarter.  Visiting  his  master  on  Sunday,  July  6th, 
he  informed  him  that  he  did  not  intend  to  remain  in 
office  ;  and,  when  Rockingham  entered  the  royal 
closet  after  Northington  had  left,  the  king  told  him 
that  the  chancellor's  resignation  was  "  a  very  im- 
portant matter,  and  must  make  him  consider  very 
seriously  what  must  be  done." 2  No  further  light 
upon  the  royal  designs  was  vouchsafed  to  the  prime 
minister  ;  and  this  want  of  confidence  on  the  part  of 
the  crown  would  not  unreasonably  have  given  birth 
in  most  men  to  the  gloomiest  forebodings.  But  Rock- 
ingham, who  was  naturally  of  a  sanguine  temperament, 
preferred  to  look  upon  the  brighter  side,  and  declined 
to  believed  that  the  chancellor's  action  was  the  first 
move  in  a  carefully  prepared  campaign.3  Difficult  as 
it  might  be  to  fill  up  the  vacancy,  he  hoped  to  weather 
the  storm  which  had  thus  suddenly  arisen.  At  a 
meeting  of  the  leading  members  of  the  party,  held  at 
Conway's  house  on  July  9th,  it  was  arranged  that 
Rockingham  and  Newcastle,  accompanied  by  the  two 

1  Rockingham  Memoirs,  i,  350-355. 

2  Add.  MS.,  32976,  f.  19,  f.  52  ;   Grenville  Papers,  3,  255-258. 

3  In  a  letter  to  Newcastle,  Rockingham  remarked:  "  Indeed,  his  majesty's 
manner  was  exceedingly  gracious,  but  whether  this  transaction  of  the  chan- 
cellor's is  on  a  plan,  or  a  mere  effect  of  passion,  I  can  hardly  determine.     I 
should  think  there  is  no  plan  ;    a  few  days  must  show  it."     Add.  MS.,  32976 
f.  19. 


FORMATION  OF  CHATHAM'S  ADMINISTRATION   43 

secretaries  of  state,  should  seek  an  interview  with  the 
king,  in  order  to  learn  the  line  of  conduct  he  intended 
to  pursue  ;  and,  if  it  was  found  possible,  gain  his  consent 
to  the  appointment  of  Charles  Yorke  as  Northington's 
successor.1 

Much  could  be  urged  in  favour  of  the  promotion  of 
Yorke  to  the  woolsack.  The  son  of  one  of  the  most 
distinguished  judges  who  have  ever  presided  over  the 
court  of  chancery,  Yorke  himself  enjoyed  a  great 
reputation  in  legal  circles,  and  was  well  known  to 
cherish  the  ambition  of  becoming  chancellor.  More- 
over, such  a  successor  to  Northington  was  not  likely 
to  be  unpleasing  to  the  king,  for  Yorke,  though  on 
intimate  terms  with  the  whig  leaders,  had  never  been, 
save  for  a  brief  period,  a  member  of  the  opposition 
party,  and  had  supported  the  court  in  the  contention 
that  the  arrest  of  Wilkes  for  seditious  libel  was  not  a 
violation  of  parliamentary  privilege.  When  the 
Rockingham  ministry  was  formed,  Yorke,  instead 
of  being  created  chancellor  as  he  had  naturally  hoped, 
was  obliged  to  content  himself  with  his  old  office  of 
attorney-general,  but,  in  order  to  compensate  him 
for  the  disappointment  which  he  might  legitimately 
feel,  the  king  had  promised  him  that  he  should  be  raised 
to  the  woolsack  within  a  twelvemonth.2  The  time  had 
now  come  for  the  pledge  to  be  fulfilled  ;  but  George  III. 
paid  little  heed  to  a  promise  which  had  been  given 
to  meet  a  particular  emergency,  and  which  it  was 
now  inconvenient  to  execute.     When  visited  by  his 

1  "  I  found,"  wrote  Newcastle,  "  that  it  was  my  Lord  Rockingham's  opinion 
that,  if  this  should  appear  to  be  no  more  than  a  flight  in  the  chancellor,  and 
that  the  king  would  give  the  seals  to  Mr  Yorke,  and  make  some  proper  removals, 
.  .  .  that  everything  might  go  on  with  ease  and  success ;  and  that  the  additional 
strength  of  having  Mr  Yorke  chancellor,  and  in  the  house  of  lords,  would 
make  a  very  great  alteration  in  favor  of  the  present  administration."  Add. 
MS.,  32976,  f.  69. 

•Add.  MS.,  35428,  f.  1,  f.  94. 


44    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

ministers  he  made  no  mention  of  appointing  a  suc- 
cessor to  Northington,  and,  though  courteous  and 
affable,  pronounced  the  death  sentence  upon  the 
administration  by  informing  his  hearers  that  he  had 
sent  for  Pitt.1  The  letter  of  summons  had  been 
dispatched  on  July  7th,  the  day  after  Northington's 
visit  to  court  ;  and  Pitt  was  already  on  his  way  to 
town.  It  was  well  known,  both  to  the  king  and  to 
the  ministers,  that  he  was  coming,  not  to  strengthen, 
but  to  destroy  the  existing  government.  Having 
declared  war  upon  a  system,  not  upon  individuals, 
it  was  probable  that  he  would  retain  in  office  some  of 
those  who  had  served  under  Rockingham  ;  but  the 
men,  whom  he  selected,  might  count  upon  finding 
themselves  associated  with  colleagues  with  whom 
they  were  in  fundamental  disagreement.2 

In  summoning  Pitt,  George  III.  claimed  to  have 
acted    upon    Northington's    advice  ;  3    but    what    the 

1  Add.  MS.,  32976,  f.  52  ;    Newcastle's  Narrative,  p.  yy. 

2  In  the  letter  summoning  Pitt  to  town,  the  king  remarked:  "  I  cannot 
conclude  without  expressing  how  entirely  my  ideas  concerning  the  basis  on 
which  a  new  administration  should  be  erected,  are  consonant  to  the  opinion 
you  gave  on  that  subject  in  parliament  a  few  days  before  you  set  out  for 
Somersetshire  "  (Chatham  Correspondence,  2,  436).  Newcastle  mentions  that 
Pitt  "  will  form  his  plan  upon  the  declaration  he  has  made  '  to  take  the  best 
men  without  distinction  of  parties  or  connections,'  that  he  will  propose  to  keep 
as  many  of  the  present  ministers  as  he  shall  think  will  be  attached  to  him  ; 
and  particularly  the  Duke  of  Grafton  and  Mr  Conway  "  (Newcastle's  Narrative, 
p.  81)  ;  and  Horace  Walpole,  who  was  a  good  political  prophet,  remarked 
that  "  the  plan  will  probably  be  to  pick  and  cull  from  all  quarters,  and  break 
all  parties  as  much  as  possible."     Walpole's  Letters,  7,  12-13. 

3  It  is  certain  that  Lord  Camden  was  also  consulted.  In  his  letter  to  Pitt 
Northington  declares,  "  I  have  not  uttered  a  word  of  this  business  but  to  Lord 
Camden."  George  Onslow  informed  Newcastle  that  Camden  had  played  a 
part  in  this  transaction,  and  when  Newcastle  handed  on  this  information  to 
the  Duke  of  Richmond,  the  latter  replied :  "  Your  Grace's  information  that 
Lord  Cambden  (sic)  and  the  chancellor  negotiated  this]  affair  is,  I  believe, 
very  true  and  very  extraordinary,  unless  Lord  Cambden  is  to  be  chancellor 
and  Lord  Northington  retires  with  a  pension."  It  is  interesting  to  notice 
how  accurately  Richmond  had  gauged  the  situation.  Add.  MS.,  32976,  f.  65, 
1.  67,  f.  103,  f.  107  ;  Bedford  Correspondence,  3,  340-341  ;  Chatham  Corre- 
spondence, 2,  434-435. 


FORMATION  OF  CHATHAM'S  ADMINISTRATION   45 

chancellor  suggested  was  so  completely  in  accord 
with  the  royal  inclinations,  that  no  pressure  could 
have  been  necessary  to  induce  the  king  to  pursue  a 
policy  which  he  could  not  but  approve.  He  saw  Pitt 
for  the  first  time  on  Saturday,  July  12th,  and  probably 
learnt  from  him  the  plan  upon  which  he  intended  to 
proceed.  Though  prepared  to  take  the  existing  adminis- 
tration as  the  foundation  of  his  own,  Pitt  was  deter- 
mined to  be  governed  in  the  selection  of  his  colleagues, 
not  by  their  political  connections  or  their  constitu- 
tional opinions,  but  by  their  ability  for  administration. 
Efficiency  was  to  be  the  hall-mark  of  the  new  cabinet, 
and  therefore  Rockingham,  of  whom  he  had  thought 
poorly  from  the  beginning,  was  to  be  replaced  at  the 
treasury  by  Temple,  and  though  Conway  was  to  be 
retained  as  secretary  of  state,  the  Duke  of  Richmond 
was  to  be  dismissed.1  In  such  a  programme  there 
was  nothing  which  could  give  the  king  offence,  and 
much  which  he  would  find  agreeable.  No  more  effec- 
tive means  of  breaking  up  the  Rockingham  party 
could  have  been  devised  than  the  admission  of  some 
of  its  members  and  the  exclusion  of  others  ;  for,  by 
these  means,  dissension  might  be  sown  between  men 
whose  union  had  been  a  menace  to  the  authority  of 
the  crown. 

That  Pitt  had  no  use  for  Rockingham's  services 
is  not  surprising  ;  but  that  Temple  should  be  chosen 
to  fill  the  vacant  place  is  certainly  not  so  easy  of 
explanation.  Though  connected  with  Pitt  by  mar- 
riage, and  by  a  friendship  stretching  back  to  the  begin- 
ning of  their  political  careers,  Temple  could  hardly  lay 
claim  to  any  great  administrative  ability ;    and  his 

1  Unfortunately  no  record  survives  of  this  interview,  but,  on  the  day 
following  it,  Pitt  informed  Conway  of  the  changes  he  proposed  to  make  in 
the  administration,  and  it  is  improbable  that  he  would  have  concealed  from 
the  king  what  he  revealed  to  his  future  secretary  of  state. 


46    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

appointment,  in  any  circumstances,  to  the  first  place 
in  the  cabinet  would  evoke  comment.  Nor  could  it 
be  urged  that  Pitt  was  determined  to  have  a  first 
lord  of  the  treasury  who  was  in  the  closest  possible 
agreement  with  him,  for,  as  is  well  known,  he  and 
Temple,  were  divided  on  the  vexed  question  of  the 
taxation  of  the  American  colonies.  Pitt  had  always 
persistently  asserted  the  illegality  of  Grenville's  stamp 
act,  whereas  Temple,  not  only  justified  that  measure, 
but  was  unsparing  in  his  denunciations  of  the  men 
who,  in  order  to  acquire  a  momentary  popularity, 
were  prepared  to  sacrifice  the  undoubted  rights  of  the 
mother  country,  and  to  give  their  sanction  to  re- 
bellion. Yet,  well  aware  as  he  was  of  his  brother-in- 
law's  opinions,  Pitt  wished  to  see  him  at  the  treasury, 
for,  whatever  Temple's  faults  might  be,  he  had,  at  least, 
the  merit  of  not  being  identified  with  the  Rockingham 
whigs.  He  was  intended  to  stand  in  the  new  ad- 
ministration as  a  type  of  the  change  which  had  been 
brought  about ;  and,  effective  as  an  emblem,  his  in- 
fluence would  not  be  such  as  to  endanger  Pitt's 
supremacy.  But  such  an  offer  can  hardly  be  styled 
attractive.  Temple  was  to  be  condemned  to  acquiesce 
in  a  colonial  policy  which  he  disapproved,  to  occupy 
a  position  of  dignity  divorced  from  all  power,  and  to 
receive  little  or  nothing  in  return  for  such  material 
concessions.  It  may  be  that  he  was  given  as  much 
as  he  deserved,  but  he  had  not  a  lowly  estimate  of 
his  own  ability,  and  might  well  refuse  to  be  fed 
with  the  crumbs  which  fell  from  his  brother-in-law's 
table.1 

1  It  is,  of  course,  possible  to  contend  that  it  was  against  Pitt's  will,  and  in 
accordance  with  the  royal  wish,  that  Temple  was  offered  the  treasury.  George 
III.  could  not  but  approve  Temple's  views  on  American  taxation,  and  Conway 
informed  Newcastle  that  Pitt  had  said  that  "  my  Lord  Temple  was  sent  for 
not  by  him,  but  insinuated  by  the  king,  as  he  was  ;  that  is  by  my  good  lord 


FORMATION  OF  CHATHAM'S  ADMINISTRATION   47 

Temple  arrived  in  London  on  the  evening  of  Monday, 
July  14th,  knowing  nothing  of  what  had  passed,  save 
that  a  negotiation  for  a  new  administration  was  pro- 
ceeding, and  that  his  services  were  required.  He  did 
not  come,  however,  to  be  treated  as  a  pawn  in  the 
game  of  his  great  kinsman,  and  it  is  not  improbable 
that  he  scented  mischief  from  afar.  On  his  way  from 
Stowe  he  had  an  interview  with  his  brother,  George 
Grenville,  with  whom  he  was  now  on  most  intimate 
terms  ;  and  it  was  agreed  between  them  that  Gren- 
ville's  claims  to  a  seat  in  the  cabinet  should  not  be 
pressed.  This  was,  undoubtedly,  a  most  politic  re- 
nunciation, for  it  was  improbable  that  Pitt  would 
consent  to  the  inclusion  in  his  administration  of  the 
originator  of  the  stamp  act  ;  and,  if  the  request  was 
made  and  refused,  Temple  might  feel  impelled  by 
loyalty  to  his  brother  to  decline  to  take  any  part  in 
the  government.1  Nor  was  it  only  a  desire  to  smooth 
the  way  for  Temple's  acceptance  that  dictated  Gren- 
ville's  self-denying  policy.  He  might  reasonably  hope 
that,  with  his  brother  at  the  treasury,  the  policy  of 
conciliating  America  would  be  abandoned,  and  the 
colonists  punished  for  their  resistance  to  the  stamp 
act ;  and  thus,  even  if  he  remained  excluded  from 
office,  his  exile  would  be  sweetened  by  the  triumph 
of  his  opinions.  Yet  the  ingenious  device  proved 
unavailing,  and  Temple  was  not  long  in  discovering 
that  he  had  journeyed  to  town  in  vain.  An  interview 
with  the  king  on  July  15th,  followed  by  one  with 
Pitt  on  the  day  after,  left  him  fully  determined  to 

chancellor,  the  amanuensis  of  the  whole"  (Newcastle's  Narrative,  p.  84). 
This  utterance,  however,  cannot  be  interpreted  as  meaning  that  Pitt  was 
opposed  to  the  step  ;  and  it  must  be  remembered  that,  only  a  few  months 
before  these  events  took  place,  Pitt  had  demanded  the  treasury  for  Temple. 
1  Bedford  Correspondence,  3,  340-341  ;  Grenville  Papers,  3,  376-377  ; 
Chatham  Correspondence,  2,  467-470. 


48    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

refuse  the  offered  terms.  When  he  learnt  that  what 
he  contemptuously  called  "  the  rump  of  the  last 
ministry  "  was  to  form  the  foundation  of  the  new,  that 
Conway,  who  had  played  so  leading  a  part  in  the 
repeal  of  the  stamp  act,  was  to  continue  as  secretary 
of  state,  that  he  was  expected  to  work  with  men 
with  whom  he  profoundly  disagreed,  and  that,  while 
as  nominal  leader  he  would  be  exposed  to  all  the 
attacks  levied  against  the  administration,  he  would 
have  little  or  no  influence  over  the  policy  of  the  govern- 
ment, he  declined,  to  use  his  own  trenchant  expression, 
"  to  come  in  like  a  child  to  go  out  like  a  fool."  1 

In  the  past,  Temple  had  often  been  guilty  of  fac- 
tious conduct,  but  on  this  occasion  he  appears  to  have 
been  guided  by  a  sound  instinct,  and  to  have  acted 
wisely.  The  mixed  motives  of  men's  actions  are  always 
difficult  to  disentangle,  and  it  would  be  the  height 
of  rashness  to  assume  that  Temple  was  uninfluenced 
by  any  jealousy  of  Pitt's  predominance.  Possibly 
aggrieved  that  he  had  not  been  consulted  earlier,  and 
as  reluctant  as  Pitt  to  preside  over  a  cabinet  which 
was  not  of  his  own  nomination,  he  might  well  feel 
that  he  had  been  treated  as  a  subordinate  rather  than 
an  equal,  and  resent  the  assumption  that  he  had  no 
choice  but  to  follow  in  the  wake  of  his  powerful  friend 
and  relation.  The  least  captious  of  men  are  apt  to 
dislike  the  undue  enforcement  of  unpleasant  truths, 
and  Temple  had  never  been  ready  to  forgive  an  affront 
to  his  pride.  Yet  it  would  be  easy  to  place  too  evil  a 
construction  upon  his  action  at  this  crisis,  and,  if  this 
were  the  only  blot  upon  his  political  career,  he  would 
be  deserving  of  more  credit  than  is  usually  given  him. 

1  Bedford  Correspondence,  3,  340-341  ;  Grenville  Papers,  3,  263-279, 
376;  Chatham's  Correspondence,  2,  441,  442,  448,  467-470;  Grafton's 
Autobiography,  94-95  ;   Add.  MS.,  32976,  f.  161. 


FORMATION  OF  CHATHAM'S  ADMINISTRATION    49 

Indeed,  he  could  plead  ample  justification  for  his  refusal 
to  come  to  Pitt's  assistance.  Though  he  disliked 
the  Rockingham  whigs  for  their  American  policy,  he 
was  in  entire  sympathy  with  them  in  their  advocacy 
of  party  government.  Reared  in  the  old  political 
school  of  the  late  king's  reign,  having  won  his  spurs 
as  a  member  of  a  party,  and  fully  appreciating  the 
strength  which  comes  from  union,  he  still  adhered  to 
the  creed  which  Pitt  had  discarded,  and  was  not  so 
eager  for  office  as  to  deny  his  faith.  He  preferred  to 
continue  in  opposition,  rather  than  be  obliged  to  work 
with  colleagues  from  whom  he  differed  on  most  of  the 
important  questions  of  the  day  ;  and  it  is  not  easy 
to  see  where  he  erred,  unless  it  be  a  crime  to  practise 
what  has  been  called  "  the  doubtful  virtue  of  con- 
sistency." 

His  contemporaries,  however,  worried  little  about 
the  morality  of  his  action,  being  far  more  interested 
to  discover  whether  Pitt  would  consent  to  form  a 
ministry  without  him.  Judging  from  what  had 
happened  only  a  year  before,  it  might  seem  that  Pitt 
was  once  more  to  be  baffled  in  the  attempt  to  come 
to  the  rescue  of  the  country  ;  but,  if  Temple  had 
counted  upon  history  repeating  itself,  he  was  doomed 
to  be  disappointed.  In  the  previous  year  his  aid 
had  been  essential  to  the  success  of  Pitt's  scheme, 
for,  unless  he  accepted  the  treasury,  that  office  would 
fall  into  the  hands  of  a  member  of  the  Rockingham 
party,  who  would  be  certain  to  introduce  into  the 
ministry  the  poison  of  the  party  system  ;  but,  by  the 
July  of  1766,  Temple  had  ceased  to  be  indispensable, 
having  a  rival  in  the  Duke  of  Grafton  who,  if  he  had  not 
entirely  broken  with  the  Rockingham  whigs,  had  at  least 
resigned  his  place  in  their  administration  in  order  to 
place  himself  at  Pitt's  disposal.     Freed  from  the  fetters 

D 


50    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

of  the  party  system,  Grafton  was  eligible  for  the  office 
which  Temple  had  declined  ;  and  it  was  to  him  that 
Pitt  turned  for  assistance.  The  young  duke  had 
indeed  few  and  most  imperfect  qualifications  for  such 
a  post ;  and,  fully  conscious  of  his  own  incapacity,  he 
was  sincerely  reluctant  to  undertake  a  task  which  he 
could  not  perform  :  but  he  struggled  in  vain  against 
the  fixed  determination  of  the  man  he  had  chosen 
as  his  political  leader.  With  something  perilously 
approaching  cruelty,  Pitt  told  him  that,  if  he  refused 
to  take  the  treasury,  he,  himself,  would  decline  to  form 
a  ministry  ;  and  thus  driven  between  the  horns  of  a 
particularly  cruel  dilemma,  compelled  either  to  endure 
the  odium  of  forcing  Pitt  to  continue  out  of  office, 
or  undertake  duties  which  he  could  not  adequately 
discharge,  Grafton  pursued  the  nobler,  if  not  the  wiser, 
course,  and  accepted  the  treasury.  Great  as  were 
the  evils  which  he  was  to  bring  upon  the  country,  it 
should  always  be  remembered  in  his  favour  that,  when 
he  found  himself  at  the  cross-roads  of  his  destiny, 
he  knowingly  sacrificed  his  own  political  reputation 
to  what  he  believed  to  be  the  good  of  the  nation.1 

Having  thus  made  sure  of  his  ground  by  securing 
the  services  of  Grafton,  Pitt  addressed  himself  to  the 
task  of  forming  a  ministry,  picking  and  choosing  from 
the  various  political  camps  of  the  day.  He  retained 
Conway,  undoubtedly  one  of  the  most  efficient  members 
of  the  late  government,  as  secretary  of  state,  but 
removed  him  from  the  southern  to  the  northern  de- 
partment, possibly  in  order  to  restrict  his  patronage 
which,  it  was  feared,  he  might  use  to  benefit  his  former 
colleagues.  The  southern  department,  wrote  the 
Marquis  of  Rockingham,  when  he  heard  of  the  change, 
t  includes  a  great  patronage,  and  would  have  been 

1  Grafton's  Autobiography,  90-91. 


FORMATION  OF  CHATHAM'S  ADMINISTRATION   51 

of  use  to  our  friends,  if  it  had  been  in  a  real  friend's 
hands."  x  Nor  was  this  the  only  intimation  given  to 
Conway  that,  though  continued  in  office,  he  was 
expected  to  adapt  himself  to  new  surroundings  and 
new  companions  ;  and  it  could  have  been  but  with  a 
faint  heart  that  he  welcomed  the  appointment  of  Lord 
Shelburne  as  his  successor  in  the  southern  department. 
Still  a  comparatively  young  man,  Shelburne  had  begun 
his  political  career  as  a  supporter  of  Bute,  and  a  bitter 
opponent  of  the  German  war ;  but,  after  the  effacement 
of  the  royal  favourite,  he  had  attached  himself  to  Pitt, 
and  loudly  proclaimed  his  hostility  to  the  party  system, 
and  his  sympathy  with  America.  When  offered  a 
place  in  the  Rockingham  ministry,  he  had  declined  it, 
declaring,  like  his  leader,  "  men  not  measures  "  to  be 
the  rule  of  his  conduct  :  and  thus  it  was  only  fitting 
that  he  should  be  given  a  seat  in  an  administration 
which  was  intended  to  demonstrate  the  futility  of  the 
party  system.  Nor  was  this,  indeed,  Shelburne's 
only  claim  to  high  office.  An  accomplished  debater, 
and  of  a  very  high  order  of  ability,  he  was  one  of  the 
most  enlightened  statesmen  of  his  time,  and  seemed 
destined  to  rise  to  political  greatness.  Yet  the  promise 
of  these  early  years  was  not  to  be  fulfilled,  and  his 
career  was  to  be  blasted  by  the  reputation  which  he 
earned  for  unparalleled  treachery  and  deceit.  Nick- 
named "  Malagrida  "  and  "  The  Jesuit  of  Berkeley 
Square,"  denounced  by  political  friends  and  foes  alike, 
Shelburne  was  almost  universally  believed  to  be  ad- 
mirably adapted  for  playing  the  part  of  the  traitor 
in  the  camp.  As  early  as  1763,  Henry  Fox  had  de- 
nounced him  asa"  perfidious  and  infamous  liar,"  and 
Grenville,  in  whose  ministry  he  had  sat  for  a  short 
time,  had  found  him  intolerable  as  a  colleague  ;    and 

1  Add.  MS.,  32976,  f.  253. 


V 

52    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

although,  when  Pitt  selected  him  to  be  secretary  of 
state,  Shelburne  did  not  enjoy  the  full  extent  of  the 
evil  fame  which  he  was  later  to  earn,  he  was  only 
too  likely  to  prove  an  element  of  discord  and  dis- 
agreement in  the  cabinet.  That  he  was  guilty  of  the 
treachery  and  deceit,  so  freely  attributed  to  him,  it  is 
difficult  to  believe  ;  but  a  strained  and  artificial  de- 
meanour, an  involved  mode  of  speech,  and  a  preference 
for  rather  crooked  ways,  lent  colour  to  the  charge 
which,  however  unfounded  it  may  appear  to  us,  was 
almost  universally  believed  by  those  who  had  ample 
opportunities  of  forming  an  opinion.1 

Almost  as  much  of  a  foregone  conclusion  as  the 
appointment  of  Shelburne  to  high  office  in  the  ad- 
ministration, was  the  promotion  of  Lord  Camden  to 
the  woolsack.  In  addition  to  the  claims  of  a  friend- 
ship dating  back  to  days  at  school,  Camden  had  won 
Pitt's  approval  when,  as  chief  justice  of  the  common 
pleas,  he  had  ruled  that  parliamentary  privilege 
covered  the  offence  of  seditious  libel,  and  that  general 
warrants  were  illegal  ;  and  Pitt  was  determined  that 
this  champion  of  the  liberty  of  the  subject  and  the 
independence  of  parliament  should  be  made  lord 
chancellor  at  the  earliest  opportunity.  This  resolution 
had  done  not  a  little  to  embitter  Pitt's  relations  with 
the  Rockingham  whigs  who  had  pressed  the  claims 
of  Charles  Yorke  ;  but,  now  that  his  friends  had  been 
driven  from  office,  Yorke  was  obliged  to  relinquish  all 
hope,  for  the  time  being,  of  following  in  his  father's 
footsteps  ;  and  the  only  obstacle  in  the  way  of  Camden's 
promotion  was  Lord  Northington  who  had  been  lord 
chancellor  from  the  first  year  of  the  reign.  Attached 
to  the  emoluments  of  his  office,  and  never  allowing  his 

1  For  an  interesting  discussion  of  Shelburne' s  character,  see  Lecky's  History 
of  England  (Cabinet  edition),  v.  132-139. 


FORMATION  OF  CHATHAM'S  ADMINISTRATION    53 

judicial  duties  to  encroach  upon  the  hours  which  he 
reserved  for  his  pleasures,1  Northington  might  natur- 
ally feel  reluctant  to  resign  his  place,  unless  assured 
of  a  comfortable  and  easy  retreat  ;  and  it  is  extremely 
unlikely  that  he  would  have  advised  the  king  to  send 
for  Pitt,  unless  he  had  been  prepared  to  make  way  for 
Camden  on  the  woolsack,  and  confident  that  he  would 
be  rewarded  for  so  doing.  Northington  was  not  a 
politician  to  take  a  leap  in  the  dark,  and  he  issued  in 
triumph  from  the  transformation  of  the  ministry. 
Lord  Camden  became  chancellor,  but  Northington 
continued  in  the  cabinet  as  lord  president  of  the 
council,  the  salary  of  that  office  being  considerably 
augmented  in  order  to  render  it  attractive  to  the  ex- 
chancellor  who  was  further  gratified  by  the  promise 
of  a  pension  and  the  reversion  of  a  sinecure. 

Thus  the  promotion  of  Camden,  upon  which  Pitt 
had  set  his  heart,  was  rendered  unexpectedly  easy 
by  Northington's  adaptability  ;  and  the  remaining 
places  in  the  cabinet  were  filled  without  much  diffi- 
culty. The  Marquis  of  Granby,  who  had  been  master 
of  ordnance  under  Rockingham,  was  made  commander 
in  chief,  and  Lord  Egmont  continued  as  first  lord 
of  the  admiralty.  William  Dowdeswell,  however, 
Rockingham's  chancellor  of  the  exchequer,  whom 
Pitt  despised  as  a  mediocrity,  was  not  allowed  to 
remain  in  office,  his  place  being  taken  by  Charles 
Townshend  ;  and  the  change  was  not  entirely  for  the 
better.  Though  by  no  means  a  brilliant,  Dowdeswell 
was  not  an  inefficient  administrator  ;  and  it  would 
have  been  well  for  the  country  if  he  had  been  permitted 

1  There  is  a  story,  the  truth  of  which  is  not  above  suspicion,  that  North- 
ington asked  the  king's  permission  to  discontinue  the  evening  sittings  of  the 
court  of  chancery  because  he  was  always  drunk  by  that  time  of  the  day. 
A  more  moderate  version  of  the  anecdote  represents  him  as  urging  that  an 
evening  sitting  prevented  him  from  sitting  over  his  port  after  dinner. 


54    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

to  continue  to  serve  it.  Steady  persistence  and  even 
dulness  are  sometimes  of  greater  value  than  intellectual 
brilliance  divorced  from  character  ;  and,  in  spite  of  his 
undoubted  ability,  it  must  be  admitted  that  Town- 
shend  was  not  worthy  of  a  high  place  in  any  administra- 
tion. A  ready  and  accomplished  debater,  with  a  great 
reputation  for  wit  in  an  age  critical  of  such  matters, 
Townshend  was  cursed  by  defects  which  rendered 
barren  his  many  great  gifts.  Lacking  in  stability  of 
purpose,  without  settled  convictions,  and  always 
treating  life  as  a  game  of  chance,  he  never  rose 
above  the  level  of  a  brilliant  political  adventurer  ; 
and  neither  the  charm  of  his  conversation  nor  the 
ingenuity  of  his  mind  can  be  pleaded  in  defence  of 
his  many  and  serious  political  failings.  He  was  too 
often  inclined,  we  are  told  by  a  contemporary,  to 
play  the  part  of  harlequin  ;  1  and,  though  eagerly 
sought  after  as  a  companion,  he  was  treated  with 
scant  respect  as  a  politician.  But  for  his  promotion 
to  be  chancellor  of  the  exchequer,  it  was  Grafton, 
and  not  Pitt,  who  was  to  blame;  for  the  latter  only 
consented  with  unfeigned  reluctance  to  an  appoint- 
ment which  he  never  approved.2  In  order  to  mitigate, 
as  much  as  possible,  the  evil  which  Townshend  might 
work,  Pitt  insisted  that  he  should  not  be  admitted 
into  the  inner  cabinet ;  but  even  this  most  salutary 
restriction  was  removed  in  a  few  weeks,  and  the 
most  volatile  of  statesmen  joined  that  small  circle  of 
ministers  who  really  ruled  the  country.3 

Such  were  the  leading  members  of  the  administra- 

1  Hist.  MSS.  Comm.,  12th  Report,  Appendix,  Part  ix.  340. 

2  Grafton's  Autobiography,  92. 

3  Lord  Egmont  reported  that  Townshend  was  vexed  and  disappointed  at 
his  exclusion  from  the  cabinet,  and,  on  learning  the  rumour,  John  Yorke, 
a  younger  brother  of  Lord  Hardwicke,  remarked,  "  I  don't  much  wonder  at  it, 
for  he  was  of  the  cabinet  when  first  commissioner  of  trade,  and  Dowdeswell 
was  so  when  chancellor  of  exchequer."     Add.  MS.,  35374,  f.  305. 


FORMATION  OF  CHATHAM'S  ADMINISTRATION    55 

tion  which  Burke  aptly  compared  to  a  piece  of  un- 
cemented  tessellated  pavement,  and  it  is  impossible 
to  quarrel  with  the  description.  If  Pitt  cannot  be 
accused  of  going  into  the  highways  and  hedges  for  his 
ministers,  he  may,  at  least,  be  said  to  have  drawn  them 
from  very  opposite  and  different  quarters  ;  and  nearly 
every  possible  political  opinion  was  represented  in 
his  cabinet.  Thus,  though  Conway  and  Shelburne 
agreed  on  the  American  question,  they  had  little  else 
in  common  ;  and  both  Pitt  and  Camden  were  opposed 
to  the  declaratory  act  which  Conway  had  supported. 
The  Marquis  of  Granby  had  voted  against  the  repeal 
of  the  stamp  act,  and  if  Charles  Townshend  had 
voted  for  the  repeal,1  he  had  also  supported  the  measure 
when  it  had  first  been  introduced  by  George  Grenville. 
Moreover,  Lord  Egmont,  the  first  lord  of  the  ad- 
miralty, was  well  known  to  be  antagonistic  to  the 
project  of  an  alliance  with  Russia  and  Prussia,  which 
Pitt  warmly  favoured  ;  and  no  reliance  could  be  placed 
upon  a  political  adventurer  like  Northington,  devoid 
of  convictions  and  unburdened  with  scruples,  who 
would  support  the  administration  as  long  as  it  suited 
his  purpose,  but  no  longer.  Thus,  in  accordance  with 
his  determination  to  destroy  the  party  system,  and 
draw  into  the  service  of  the  crown  the  ablest  politicians 
of  the  day,  Pitt  had  purposely  constructed  an  ad- 
ministration which  represented  everything  except  an 
unanimous  opinion.  It  was  an  experiment  of  no  little 
daring,  and,  though  its  success  would  reflect  great 
glory  upon  the  man  who  had  dared  so  much,  its  failure 
might  well  cause  it  to  be  conceived  as  the  whim  of  a 
madman's  brain.  Yet  there  is  no  evidence  that  Pitt 
feared  disaster.  He,  apparently,  had  no  misgivings 
as  to  the  future,  no  fear  that  the  team,  he  had  under- 

1  Add.  MSS.,  35436,  f.  31. 


56    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

taken  to  drive,  might  prove  too  unruly  to  be  controlled. 
He  was  confident  that,  with  the  royal  support,  he  would 
prevail  in  the  cabinet  and  parliament  alike,  and  nothing 
is  more  striking  than  his  complete  assurance  of  having 
secured  the  favour  of  the  crown.  A  few  weeks  after 
he  had  taken  office,  he  informed  a  friend  that  he  "  had 
the  king's  entire  confidence ;  and  that  he  had  not  the 
least  doubt  or  suspicion  that  he  should  lose  it ;  that 
he  depended  so  much  upon  it,  that  he  should  go  for 
six  weeks  to  Bath  for  his  health,  to  return  by  the 
meeting  of  parliament,  the  beginning  of  November  ; 
that  he  should  leave  those  ministers  with  the  king 
whom  he  could  entirely  trust  ;  that  his  majesty  had 
such  confidence  in  him  that  he  could  propose  nothing 
that  his  majesty  did  not  immediately  agree  to  ;  and 
that  no  private  gentleman  could  talk  more  properly 
upon  all  subjects  than  the  king  did.  That  he  was 
very  sensible  of  the  run  there  was  against  him  ;  but 
that  did  not  affect  him,  nor  should  alter  his  conduct  ; 
that  if  his  majesty  was  pleased  ...  to  continue 
his  confidence  to  him,  he  would  never  desert  the  king, 
but  support  him  in  all  events,  broke  and  old  as  he 
was  ;  that  he  has  not  the  least  doubt  of  success  ;  and 
that  his  administration  would  be  a  permanent  one."  x 
These  were  strange  words  in  the  mouth  of  one 
accustomed  in  the  past  to  look  rather  to  the  nation 
than  to  the  court  as  the  source  of  his  power  ;  but  to 
use  them  in  order  to  prove  Pitt  guilty  of  being  a  time- 
server,  of  having  descended  into  the  role  of  a  palace 
favourite,  would  be  a  gross  and  malicious  perversion 
of  the  truth.  He  was  as  eager  as  he  had  ever  been 
for  the  glory  and  greatness  of  England ;  but,  whereas 

1  Add.  MS.,  32977,  f.  41.  This  is  taken  from  an  account  of  the  conversa- 
tion given  by  a  third  person  to  Newcastle  ;  but  there  seems  no  reason  to 
doubt  its  substantial  accuracy. 


FORMATION  OF  CHATHAM'S  ADMINISTRATION   57 

when  he  had  pursued  this  end  in  the  past,  he  had  been 
obliged  to  stoop  to  an  alliance  with  Newcastle,  in  order 
to  acquire  the  support  of  the  house  of  commons,  he 
now  sought  assistance  from  the  crown.  Confident 
of  the  royal  favour,  and  still  the  idol  of  the  popular 
adoration,  Pitt  might  well  regard  his  position  as 
impregnable,  and  anticipate  a  speedy  triumph  over 
his  enemies  both  at  home  and  abroad.  It  was,  perhaps, 
this  complete  faith  in  the  security  of  the  foundation 
of  his  power,  that  encouraged  him  to  take  a  step  which 
produced  something  like  a  panic  amongst  his  fol- 
lowers. In  failing  health,  and  unequal  to  the  strain 
of  a  great  administrative  office,  he  determined  to 
occupy  the  comparatively  unimportant  post  of  lord 
privy  seal,  and  to  such  an  arrangement  there  could  be 
little  objection.  His  influence  in  the  ministry  would 
be  quite  independent  of  the  office  he  held,  and  the 
necessity  of  exercising  a  general  supervision  might  be 
pleaded  in  favour  of  an  unusual  expedient.  But, 
unfortunately  for  his  popularity,  and  to  the  amaze- 
ment of  his  colleagues,  he  decided  to  enter  the  upper 
house  as  Earl  of  Chatham.1  That  in  so  doing  he  was 
guilty  of  a  serious  tactical  blunder  admits  of  no  denial. 
It  is  true  that  he  was  probably  unequal  to  the  lengthy 
and  fatiguing  debates  of  the  house  of  commons,  and 
was  not  unlikely  to  be  often  prevented  by  ill-health 
from  attending  parliament  ;  but  the  populace  is 
governed  by  imagination  more  than  by  reason,  and  the 
affection,  which  had  been  lavished  upon  William  Pitt, 
was  withheld  from  the  Earl  of  Chatham.  He  had 
acquired  the  trust  and  confidence  of  the  nation  because 
he  was  universally  believed  to  be  supremely  indifferent 
to  those  prizes  of  political  life,  which  most  men  so 
eagerly  covet,  and  the  outcry,  which  had  been  raised 

1  Grafton's  Autobiography,  97. 


58    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

in  1 761,  when  he  accepted  a  pension  from  the  crown, 
ought  to  have  enlightened  him  as  to  the  conditions 
upon  which  he  enjoyed  the  affection  of  the  people. 
Unreasonable  as  the  clamour  may  have  been,  Pitt 
selected  a  most  inopportune  moment  for  throwing 
down  the  glove  of  defiance  to  the  nation.  In  the  very 
hour  when  he  needed  all  the  popularity  which  he 
enjoyed,  he  chose  to  squander  it ;  and  his  colleagues 
might  well  be  appalled  when  they  heard  the  news. 
It  is  not  impossible  that  Temple  was  partly  influenced 
to  decline  a  place  in  the  ministry  by  the  knowledge 
that  Pitt  was  about  to  become  a  member  of  the  upper 
house  ;  and,  if  this  is  so,  it  redounds  to  his  political 
wisdom.1  Few  men  have  been  more  deserving  of  a 
peerage  than  Pitt,  but  few  men  have  purchased  it  at 
a  higher  rate.  He  earned  it  by  the  many  distinguished 
services  which  he  had  rendered  to  the  country,  but 
he  paid  for  it  by  the  loss  of  the  popular  affection.2 

Thus  the  preliminaries  were  finished,  and  every- 
thing prepared  for  the  crusade  aimed  at  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  party  system,  and  the  establishment  of  the 
royal  authority.     Though  Pitt,  by  an  act  of  folly,  had 

1  It  is  by  no  means  certain  that  Temple  actually  knew  that  Pitt  intended 
to  take  a  peerage  ;  but  there  is  a  significant  passage  in  his  letter  to  Grenville, 
dated  July  18th,  in  which  he  remarks,  "  Illuminations,  city  address,  etc.,  all 
preparing  :  whether  any  damp  will  be  cast  upon  them  I  know  not."  Grenville 
Papers,  3,  267. 

2  In  a  letter  to  Lord  Buckinghamshire,  written  in  August  1766,  Hans 
Stanley  remarked  that  "  Though  I  have  been  much  confined  to  my  own  home, 
and  my  personal  business,  I  have  seen  evident  marks  of  the  same  unpopularity 
in  administration  which  you  mention  as  prevailing  in  Norfolk.  The  cry  about 
the  peerage  will,  I  think,  subside,  for  however  unaccountable  in  point  of 
prudence  that  step  may  appear  to  me,  it  certainly  is  not  a  parallel  case  with 
the  Earl  of  Bath  who  deserted  both  his  opinions  and  his  friends.  The  fault 
here  has  been  of  a  contrary  nature,  men  without  merit  or  pretensions 
preferred  to  the  highest  situations  in  this  country,  which  I  think  will  very 
much  weaken  authority  at  home  and  credit  abroad.  .  .  .  Upon  the  whole 
I  am  thoroughly  disgusted  with  all  the  late  scenes  of  politics,  and  nothing 
but  that  sentiment  could  have  embarked  me  in  my  present  undertaking.'" 
Add.  MS.,  22359,  f.  52. 


FORMATION  OF  CHATHAM'S  ADMINISTRATION    59 

thrown  away  the  popularity  which  might  have  proved 
so  formidable  a  weapon  in  his  hands,  he  still  remained 
a  very  dangerous  antagonist ;  and  it  was  necessary 
for  the  Rockingham  whigs  to  look  to  their  arms,  and 
prepare  for  the  battle,  soon  to  be  fought  in  parliament. 
It  was  open  to  them  to  go  into  headlong  opposition, 
and  wage  unceasing  war  against  the  ministers  who 
had  displaced  them  ;  but,  though  such  a  course  was 
possible,  both  its  expediency  and  its  chance  of  success 
were  open  to  question.  On  many  of  the  questions 
which  would  come  before  parliament,  they  were  in 
substantial  agreement  with  Chatham  ;  and  prolonged 
and  systematic  antagonism  would  be  difficult,  unless 
they  were  prepared  to  suffer  the  accusation  of  reckless 
and  factious  opposition.  Moreover,  quite  apart  from 
such  a  consideration,  they  could  not  hope  to  prevail 
alone,  outnumbered  as  they  were  by  the  supporters 
of  the  court  ;  and,  if  they  seriously  intended  to  run 
the  administration  close  upon  divisions,  and  possibly 
outvote  it,  they  must  not  flinch  before  an  alliance 
with  the  followers  of  the  Duke  of  Bedford  and  the 
adherents  of  George  Grenville.  But  to  such  a  union 
there  were,  seemingly,  insuperable  and,  certainly,  serious 
objections.  The  faction  led  by  the  Duke  of  Bedford 
numbered  some  of  the  most  rapacious  and  immoral 
policitians  of  the  day.  Bedford,  himself,  if  not  a  very 
enlightened,  was,  at  least,  a  respectable  statesman  ;  but, 
among  his  followers,  Sandwich,  Weymouth,  and  Rigby 
enjoyed  a  most  evil  pre-eminence.  While  Rigby  was 
the  most  abandoned  and  brazen  of  place-hunters, 
Sandwich  startled  an  easy-going  generation  by  the 
immorality  of  his  private  life,  and  Lord  Weymouth 
was  reported  to  divide  his  affections  between  play  and 
strong  beer.  But  it  was  the  public  conduct  rather 
than  the  private  vices  of  the  leaders  of  the  Bedford 


60    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

party,  which  rendered  it  difficult  for  the  Rockingham 
whigs  to  coalesce  with  them.  Sandwich  had  been 
active  in  the  attack  upon  Wilkes,  and  the  Duke  of 
Bedford  an  important  member  of  the  administration 
which  had  introduced  the  stamp  act  ;  and  thus, 
unless  Rockingham  was  prepared  to  abandon  the 
American  colonists  to  their  fate,  an  alliance  with  the 
Bedford  party  would  be  attended  by  many  diffi- 
culties. A  wider,  and  even  more  unbridgeable,  gulf 
separated  him  from  George  Grenville  who  viewed 
with  detestation  and  disgust  the  man  whom  he  believed 
to  have  sacrificed  a  principle  to  expediency ;  and, 
though  the  followers  of  Bedford  might  be  driven  by 
their  hunger  for  office  to  discard  their  convictions,  and 
come  to  a  working  agreement  with  the  Rockingham 
whigs,  it  was  far  less  likely  that  the  little  band,  which 
had  sworn  allegiance  to  Grenville  and  his  brother, 
Lord  Temple,  would  barter  their  opinions  for  places 
in  an  administration  led  by  Lord  Rockingham.  Thus 
there  was  much  to  deter  Rockingham  from  immediately 
embarking  upon  a  career  of  opposition  ;  and  it  is  to 
his  credit  that  he  declined  to  be  a  renegade  to  his 
political  creed,  and  to  gain  a  temporary  triumph  by 
forming  a  confederation  which  could  be  truly  styled 
factious. 

Though  opposition,  however,  might  be  out  of  the 
question,  Lord  Rockingham  and  his  followers  were 
not  dispensed  from  the  necessity  of  deciding  upon  a 
plan  of  campaign.  If  they  pursued  a  policy  of  drift, 
of  idly  waiting  upon  events,  they  would  certainly 
encounter  disaster.  Their  existence  as  a  party  was 
openly  threatened  by  Chatham  who  had  sworn  their 
destruction  ;  and,  if  they  were  to  be  true  to  their 
principles,  it  was  their  very  life  that  they  had  to 
defend.     They  sought  to  do  so  by  securing  as  many 


FORMATION  OF  CHATHAM'S  ADMINISTRATION   61 

places  as  possible  in  the  new  administration,  and  by- 
reducing  the  resignation  of  their  friends  to  the  smallest 
possible  number.1  It  was  with  the  warm  approval 
of  their  former  colleagues  that  both  Grafton  and 
Conway  accepted  office  under  Chatham  ;  2  and  great 
was  the  rejoicing  in  the  whig  camp  when  the  news 
was  brought  that  Temple  had  declined  to  join  the 
ministry.  Lord  Rockingham  declared  himself  "  much 
pleased,  because  I  now  think  that  the  corps  will  be 
kept  together,  which,  indeed,  I  feared  was  doubtful 
some  hours  ago  "  ;  3  and  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  pro- 
phesied that  "  Pitt  must  fling  himself  into  us." 4 
When  Lord  John  Cavendish  resigned  his  place  at  the 
treasury,  Rockingham  regretted,  and  Newcastle  ex- 
cused, the  action ; 5  and  the  Duke  of  Portland  was  told 
that,  if  he  left  the  administration,  he  would  "  ruin 
all."  6  It  was,  of  course,  impossible  that  there  should 
not  be  some  exceptions  to  this  general  rule,  and  Charles 
Yorke,  chagrined  that  he  was  not  promoted  to  the 
woolsack,  declined  to  continue  as  attorney-general  ;  7 
but,     for    the    most     part,    those     members    of    the 

1  Thus  Burke  writes,  "  I  thought  it  was  a  settled  point  that  none  should 
go  out  without  the  concurrence  of  the  party."     Burke's  Correspondence,  i ,  106. 

2  Newcastle's  Narrative,  82-87.  Newcastle  wished  Rockingham  to  remain 
at  the  treasury,  but  this  was  obviously  out  of  the  question.     Add.  MS.,  32976, 

f-  173- 

3  Add.  MS.,  32976,  f.  161. 

4  Add.  MS.,  32976,  f.  173  ;  see  also  f.  169. 

5  Add.  MS.,  32976,  f.  253,  f.  255,  f.  269. 
8  Add.  MS.,  32976,  f.  221. 

7  The  king  was  prepared  to  continue  Yorke  as  attorney-general,  but  the 
latter  refused  to  remain  in  that  office  ;  and  his  conduct  was  approved  by  Lord 
Rockingham.  "  Your  note  of  last  night,"  wrote  the  marquis  to  him,  "  sur- 
prized me  much.  I  could  hardly  have  believed  that  you  should  have  been 
desired  to  come  to  his  majesty,  and  no  other  proposition  made  to  you  but 
so  unworthy  a  one  as  desiring  you  to  continue  attorney-general.  ...  If  the 
proposition  had  been  chief  justice  with  a  peerage,  I  should  have  thought  it 
might  require  consideration.  ...  I  am  positively  clear  that  you  cannot  stay 
in  the  office  of  attorney-general,  and  that  no  sollicitation  should  weigh  with 
you  to  do  it.  .  .  .  Don't  by  any  persuasions  accept  the  chief  justiceship 
without  a  peerage."     Add.  MS.,  35430,  f.  59. 


62    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

Rockingham  party,  whom  Chatham  was  willing  to 
retain,  continued  to  occupy  the  posts  they  had  held 
in  the  late  administration. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  discern  the  motives  which 
inspired  this  policy.  If  Rockingham  called  upon 
his  followers  to  come  into  the  wilderness  of  opposition, 
there  was  a  risk  that  he  might  put  a  greater  strain 
on  their  allegiance  than  it  was  capable  of  sustaining. 
There  could  hardly  fail  to  be  many  desertions,  and 
thus  Chatham  would  be  given  a  favourable  opportunity 
of  breaking  up  the  whig  party  by  winning  its  adherents 
with  the  bribe  of  office.  It  was  to  guard  against  this 
danger  that  both  Newcastle  and  Rockingham  en- 
couraged their  friends  to  continue  in  the  ministry  ; 
the  new  administration,  as  well  as  the  old,  must  be 
representative  of  the  party  system.  There  was  no 
idea  of  trailing  the  Rockingham  banner  in  the  dust, 
of  breaking  up  the  organisation  which  had  been  so 
laboriously  achieved.  There  must  be  close  and  con- 
stant communication  between  those  members  of  the 
party  who  continued  in  office,  and  those  who  had  lost 
their  places.  They  must  continue  to  act  as  a  corps, 
to  work  together  for  the  attainment  of  a  common  end, 
in  the  hope  that  the  day  would  perhaps  come  when 
Chatham,  realising  that  he  had  undertaken  more  than 
he  could  perform,  would  abandon  his  principle  of 
"  men  not  measures,"  and  conclude  an  alliance  with 
the  Rockingham  whigs.  Thus  the  late  ministers 
hoped  to  achieve,  by  patient  endurance  and  studied 
moderation,  more  than  they  could  have  accomplished 
by  the  most  carefully  designed  attack.  Chatham  had 
resolved  to  destroy  the  party  system,  and  they  were 
determined  to  maintain  it. 

The  issue  of  such  a  struggle  could  not  fail  to  have 
important  consequences  upon  the  development  of  the 


FORMATION  OF  CHATHAM'S  ADMINISTRATION    63 

constitution.  If  Chatham  succeeded  in  the  fulfilment 
of  his  hopes,  the  personal  authority  of  the  crown 
would  be  firmly  established,  and  the  ideas  promul- 
gated by  Bolingbroke  realised  in  practice.  The  party 
system,  proved  to  be  unnecessary,  would  pass  away 
and  be  forgotten,  and  the  ministers  of  the  sovereign 
be  freed  from  all  allegiance,  save  to  their  master  who 
appointed  them,  and  the  law  of  the  land.  But  before 
this  attempt  to  set  back  the  hands  of  the  clock,  and 
undo  the  work  accomplished  by  the  whigs  under  the 
first  two  Georges,  could  be  successful,  the  various 
parliamentary  parties,  the  Rockinghams,  the  Bedfords, 
and  the  Grenvilles  must  be  destroyed  ;  and  thus  upon 
them  fell  the  burden  of  maintaining  the  battle  against 
the  court.  Time  was  to  show  how  worthy  they  were 
of  discharging  such  a  responsible  function. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE    MINISTRY    ON   ITS   TRIAL 

If  it  be  heroism  to  set  out  upon  a  stormy  and  danger- 
ous enterprise,  in  the  full  assurance  of  victory,  and 
oblivious  to  the  possibility  of  failure,  then  at  no  time 
of  his  life  was  Chatham  more  truly  heroic  than  when 
he  began  his  unhappy  crusade  against  the  party 
system.  Ill  and  suffering,  and  confronted  with  a 
task,  the  difficulties  of  which  might  have  inspired  a 
lesser  man  with  fear  and  a  wiser  man  with  caution, 
he  does  not  appear  to  have  had  any  misgivings,  any 
anxiety  for  the  future,  confidently  believing  that, 
whereas  in  the  past  he  had  saved  his  country  from 
her  enemies  abroad,  so  now  he  was  destined  to  deliver 
her  from  her  foes  at  home.  His  self-appointed  work 
was  to  still  factious  strife  and  political  discord,  and  to 
restore  England  to  that  proud  position  among  the 
powers  of  Europe,  to  which  he  had  formerly  raised  her. 
Yet,  glorious  as  the  conception  was,  its  execution  was 
far  from  easy,  for  Chatham  could  hardly  count  upon 
his  opponents  abandoning  the  struggle,  and  laying  down 
their  arms,  directly  he  appeared  in  the  field.  Many 
obstacles  would  have  to  be  overcome,  and  many  fierce 
contests  fought,  before  the  political  millennium,  as 
he  conceived  it,  could  be  successfully  inaugurated ;  and 
Chatham  stands  convicted  of  having  seriously  under- 
rated the  difficulties  of  the  undertaking.  It  is  true 
that  his  parliamentary  enemies  were  divided,  and  that 

64 


THE  MINISTRY  ON  ITS  TRIAL  65 

the  prospect  of  a  union  between  the  Rockinghams, 
the  Bedfords,  and  the  Grenvilles,  was  comparatively 
remote ;  but  it  would  have  been  well  if  he  had  re- 
membered that,  however  little  else  his  opponents 
had  in  common,  they  at  least  all  believed,  though  in 
differing  degrees,  in  the  principles  of  party  govern- 
ment, and  that  the  time  might  come  when  they  would 
elect  to  drop  their  differences,  and  stand  united  in 
defence  of  the  one  article  of  faith  which  they  all 
professed.  Should  this  ever  happen,  Chatham  would 
indeed  be  in  a  perilous  situation.  Having  gone  far 
to  extinguish  his  personal  popularity  by  the  accept- 
ance of  a  peerage,  he  was  no  longer  the  idol  of  the 
people  whose  favour  had  meant  so  much  to  him  in 
the  early  days  of  his  struggle  for  power  ;  and  it  was 
to  the  king,  rather  than  to  the  nation,  that  he  looked 
for  assistance,  should  be  ever  be  hard  pressed.  It  was 
not  inconceivable  that  he  might  find  it  impossible 
to  reconcile  his  newly-found  devotion  for  the  court 
with  his  old  preference  for  the  people. 

It  was  not  long  before  he  learnt  that  his  path  was 
not  to  be  free  from  obstacles.  On  August  13th,  Lord 
Egmont,  having  come  to  the  conclusion  that  he  could 
not  conscientiously  remain  a  member  of  an  administra- 
tion whose  foreign  policy  he  did  not  approve,  resigned 
his  office  of  first  lord  of  the  admiralty  ;  *  and,  though 
he  was  not  likely  to  have  materially  increased  the 
efficiency  or  prestige  of  the  cabinet,  his  resignation  was 
not  devoid  of  importance,  since  it  was  a  protest  against 
the  doctrine  of  "  men,  not  measures,"  and,  moreover, 
created  a  vacancy  which  had  to  be  filled.2     Thus,  at 

1  Add.  MS.,  32976,  f.  423. 

2  "  Lord  Egmont  .  .  .  resigned  his  own  employment  in  a  manner  that 
does  him  great  honor,  and  is  a  great  blow  to  this  administration,  and  I 
know  it  is  felt  by  Conway." — Newcastle  to  Portland,  August  16th,  1766.  Add. 
MSS.,  32976,  f.  423. 


66    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

the  very  beginning  of  his  campaign,  Chatham  was 
confronted  with  the  writing  on  the  wall ;  but  he  refused 
to  read  the  message  aright,  and  determined,  in  the 
appointment  of  Egmont's  successor,  to  maintain  the 
principle  which,  he  thought,  would  bring  salvation  to 
the  country.  An  appeal  was  made  to  Lord  Gower, 
one  of  the  most  respectable  of  the  members  of  the 
Bedford  party  ;  but,  anxious  though  Gower  was  for 
office,  he  promptly  declined  the  invitation  when  he 
discovered  that  the  offer  was  confined  to  himself  alone, 
and  that  nothing  was  to  be  done  for  his  friends  and 
political  allies.  That  he  acted  wisely  cannot  be 
doubted,  for  it  would  be  a  mistake  to  attribute  his 
refusal  to  the  proverbial  rapacity  and  self-seeking  of 
the  faction  to  which  he  belonged.  George  Grenville, 
who  was  taken  into  the  confidence  of  the  Bedford  party, 
and  played  a  part  in  the  negotiation,  pointed  out  that 
"  the  evident  purpose  of  all  this  is  to  break  and  divide 
us  if  possible  "  ;  x  and  he  was  not  far  from  the  truth. 
Gower  was  to  be  taken  but  the  others  were  to  be  left, 
and,  as  first  lord  of  the  admiralty,  he  would  be  ex- 
pected to  forget  his  friends,  and  forswear  the  party 
in  which  he  had  received  his  political  education.  But 
Chatham  was  to  discover  that  recruits  were  not  to  be 
so  easily  won  ;  and,  though  eager  enough  for  power, 
from  which  they  had  been  too  long  exiled  for  their 
own  happiness,  the  Bedfords  realised  that  the  best 
way  of  bringing  the  prime  minister  to  acknowledge 
defeat  was  to  present  a  united  front,  and  to  stand 
and  fall  together.2 

The  overtures  to  Gower  having  ended  in  failure, 
the  vacant  office  was  offered  to,  and  accepted  by,  Sir 

1  Grenville  Papers,  3,  302-305. 

2  Bedford    Correspondence,   3,   342-344;     Grenville    Papers,    3,    302-310; 
Grafton's  Autobiography,  99-100;    Chatham  Correspondence,  3,  54,  55. 


THE  MINISTRY  ON  ITS  TRIAL  67 

Charles  Saunders,  a  distinguished  seaman,  and,  politi- 
cally, in  sympathy  with  the  Rockingham  party.  Though 
chagrined  that  Saunders  had  only  been  asked  when 
Gower  had  declined,  Rockingham,  in  accordance  with 
his  policy  of  encouraging  his  friends  to  take  places  in 
the  administration  as  long  as  they  did  not  break  with 
the  party,  approved  the  appointment,1  and,  indeed, 
had  reason  to  be  pleased  with  the  change ;  for  Egmont, 
though  he  had  served  under  Rockingham,  cannot  be 
numbered  as  one  of  his  followers.  Far  more  reliance 
could  be  placed  upon  Saunders,  and  his  appointment 
strengthened  Rockingham  in  his  resolution  to  refrain 
from  opposition  if  it  could  be  possibly  avoided.  "  I 
still  continue  anxious,"  he  wrote  at  the  end  of  August, 
"  that  we  and  our  friends  should  be  quiet,  and  that 
our  only  object  should  be  to  keep  up  a  good-humoured 
correspondence  with  those  parts  of  the  present  system 
who  were  parts  of  ours,  and  perhaps  at  some  day  we 
may  feel  the  benefit  of  this  moderation  "  ; 2  and  these 
opinions  were  re-echoed  by  Newcastle  who  affirmed 
that  he  would  give  "  no  improper  opposition  to  this 
administration,  and  even  .  .  .  support  them  if  their 
measures  are  agreeable  to  our  conduct  during  the 
opposition,  and  to  those  successful  ones  which  were 
followed  by  the  last  administration." 3  It  was  a 
policy  of  stooping  to  conquer ;  and,  if  the  Rockingham 
whigs  abstained  from  attacking  the  ministry,  it  was 
not  from  any  love  they  bore  to  Chatham  and  his 
political  principles,  but  because  they  were  anxious  to 
remain  on  friendly  terms  with  their  former  colleagues, 
especially  Grafton  and  Conway,  and  to  use  them  as 

1  "  I  don't  think  the  manner  of  Lord  Chatham  doing  it  was  so  obliging 
to  Sir  Charles  as  to  merit  much  even  from  him  ;  but  the  appearance  is  rather 
reconciliatory  towards  us,  and  will  be  so  represented." — Rockingham  to 
Newcastle,  August  29th,  1766.     Add.  MS.,  32976,  f.  488. 

2  Add.  MS.,  32976,  f.  488.  3  Add.  MS.,  32976,  f .  5 1 1 . 


68    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

an  avenue  through  which  they  might  pass  into  office. 
"  I  conclude,"  wrote  Newcastle  to  Lord  Rockingham, 
"  your  lordship's  view  is  to  engage  the  Duke  of  Grafton 
and  Mr  Conway  to  use  all  their  credit  with  my  Lord 
Chatham  to  convince  him  that  he  can  have  no  security 
upon  which  he  may  depend,  but  from  the  friends  of 
the  last  administration  "  ;  *  and  such  was,  doubtless, 
the  plan  approved.  Chatham  was  to  be  educated 
into  the  belief  that  the  support  of  the  Rockingham 
party  was  essential  to  his  success,  in  the  hope  that, 
having  learned  his  lesson,  he  would  abandon  his  war 
against  all  political  factions,  and,  by  allying  himself 
with  the  Rockingham  whigs,  re-establish  the  system 
of  party  government  once  again. 

For  the  success  of  such  a  plan  of  campaign  much 
depended  upon  the  loyalty  of  Conway  and  Grafton, 
and  not  a  little  upon  Chatham  himself.  Conway,  it 
is  true,  gave  entire  satisfaction,  and  appeared  anxious 
to  maintain  friendly  and  intimate  relations  with  his 
old  whig  friends  ; 2  but  far  more  doubt  was  felt  about 
Grafton  who,  though  he  had  been  secretary  of  state 
in  the  late  administration,  had  never  really  been  in 
complete  accord  with  the  party,  and  appeared  to  be 
now  more  devoted  to  Chatham  than  ever.3  Youthful 
and  impressionable,  he  was  dazzled  by  the  glamour 
of  the  doctrine  of  efficiency,  and  was  inclined  to  credit 
his  former  associates  with  preferring  the  triumph  of  a 
party  to  the  welfare  of  the  nation.  The  loss  of  Grafton, 
however,  could  be  easily  borne  if  Conway  continued 

1  Add.  MS.,  32976,  f.  511. 

2  "  Yesterday  my  Lord  Rockingham  called  here  on  his  way  to  Bath.  I 
had  a  great  deal  of  discourse  with  him  ;  he  was  in  very  good  humour,  and 
seemed  free  and  open.  He  gave  me  a  general  account  of  what  had  passed  at 
two  conversations  with  Mr  Conway,  with  which  he  was  very  much  pleased, 
as  indeed  we  have  all  reason  to  be." — Newcastle  to  Portland,  Oct.  1  ith,  1766. 
Add.  MS.,  32977,  f.  236  ;  see  also  f.  91,  f.  215. 

3  Add.  MS.,  32976,  f.  511  ;   Add.  MS.,  32977,  f.  91. 


THE  MINISTRY  ON  ITS  TRIAL  69 

faithful,  and  it  was  in  him  that  the  Rockingham 
whigs  placed  their  trust.  Yet  Conway,  though  able 
to  hold  out  a  helping  hand,  by  no  means  controlled 
the  political  situation,  and  it  rested  with  Chatham 
to  direct  the  course  of  future  events.  Haughty  and 
dictatorial,  never  ready  to  trim  his  sails  to  the  breeze, 
it  was  very  possible  that  the  prime  minister  might 
drive  the  Rockingham  party  into  headlong  opposition. 
If  he  replied  to  friendly  advances  by  deliberate  insults, 
open  war  might  take  the  place  of  an  armed  neutrality  ; 
and  the  information,  given  by  Conway  to  Newcastle 
at  the  end  of  September,  that  "  we  were  to  expect  some 
further  removals,  and  that  some  of  them  would  be 
very  disagreeable,"  x  was  hardly  hopeful  of  peace 
in  the  future.  Moreover,  the  unfavourable  impression 
created  by  such  intelligence  must  have  been  intensified 
by  the  overtures  made  by  Chatham  to  the  Duke  of 
Bedford  when  they  met  at  Bath  in  the  month  of 
October.2  The  vague  assurances  of  the  minister  were 
by  no  means  sufficient  to  satisfy  the  leader  of  a 
party  which  thoroughly  understood  the  art  of  political 
bargaining  ;  but  the  abortive  negotiation  is  of  interest, 
inasmuch  as  it  shows  that  Chatham  had  not  the  slightest 
intention  of  throwing  in  his  lot  exclusively  with  the 
Rockingham  whigs,  and  was  as  determined  as  ever 
to  win  recruits  from  all  camps. 

It  would  be,  however,  to  inflict  a  startling  injustice 
upon  a  great  statesman  to  imagine  that  Chatham  had 
no  other  design  in  taking  office  than  to  wage  a  domestic 
war,  or  that  he  spent  all  his  time  and  energy  in  futile 
negotiations.  He  had  come  into  the  king's  service 
to  accomplish  greater  things  than  these ;  and  no 
sooner  had  he  constructed  his  cabinet  than  he  set  to 
work  to  repair  what  he  believed  to  be  the  most  pressing 

1  Add.  MS.,  32977,  f.  91.  2  Bedford  Correspondence,  3,  348  ff. 


70    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

evils  of  the  time.  He  found  much  to  regret  in  the 
position  which  his  country  occupied  in  Europe.  When 
he  had  retired  from  the  coalition  ministry  in  the 
autumn  of  1761,  the  nation  stood  at  the  very  pinnacle 
of  its  fame,  triumphant  over  France,  and  allied  with 
the  victorious  King  of  Prussia ;  but,  on  returning  to 
power  five  years  later,  he  discovered  that,  though  the 
horrors  of  war  had  been  exchanged  for  the  blessings 
of  peace,  England  no  longer  enjoyed  that  proud  pre- 
dominance which  he  had  formerly  bestowed  upon 
her.  Though  outwardly  all  was  quiet  and  at  rest,  the 
signs  of  a  gathering  storm  might  be  read  in  the  political 
heavens.  The  two  Bourbon  countries  of  France  and 
Spain  were  now  united  by  the  family  compact,  con- 
cluded in  1761  ;  and,  as  both  these  powers  had 
suffered  many  recent  indignities  and  losses  at  the 
hands  of  England,  they  might  be  expected  to  seek 
revenge  upon  their  conquerer  at  the  first  favourable 
opportunity.  No  man  could  foretell  when  that 
occasion  would  arise,  but  it  was  necessary  for  England 
to  be  prepared  to  meet  this  dread  event  when  it  came. 
Unfortunately,  nothing  was  clearer  than  her  lack  of 
preparation,  for  she  stood  isolated  in  Europe,  and,  if 
attacked  by  France  and  Spain,  might  well  be  over- 
whelmed by  the  mere  weight  of  numbers.  She  had 
quarrelled  with  her  former  ally,  Frederick  the  Great  of 
Prussia,  the  most  renowned  general  of  his  time  and 
the  leader  of  an  army  which  might  safely  be  counted 
upon  to  hold  France  in  check.  Into  the  rights  and 
wrongs  of  that  quarrel,  which  had  occurred  when 
Bute  was  prime  minister,  this  is  not  the  place  to  enter  ; 
and  Chatham  showed  no  disposition  to  rake  up  the 
ashes  of  a  dead  controversy.1     He  looked  to  the  future 

1  For  a  discussion  of  the  rupture  between  England  and  Prussia  in  1762,, 
see  von  Ruville's  William  Pitt,  Graf,  von  Chatham,  vol.  iii.  chap.  2. 


THE  MINISTRY  ON  ITS  TRIAL  71 

not  to  the  past,  and  set  to  work  to  free  England  from 
her  isolation  by  beginning  a  negotiation  for  an  alliance 
with  Prussia,  in  which  Russia  was  to  be  included. 
This  was  certainly  no  fool-hardy  enterprise,  for  there 
was  much  to  encourage  him  to  believe  that  the  English 
advances  would  be  welcomed  by  Frederick  the  Great. 
The  King  of  Prussia  was  known  to  retain  a  grateful 
memory  of  the  services  rendered  him  by  Pitt  during 
the  Seven  Years  war ;  and,  now  that  his  benefactor  was 
once  more  in  office,  it  might  be  anticipated  that  he 
would  forget  his  grievances,  and  welcome  the  English 
overtures.  This,  unfortunately,  proved  to  be  a  delusive 
hope.  Bearing  in  lively  remembrance  what  he  had 
suffered  at  the  hands  of  Bute  who,  he  firmly  believed, 
had  betrayed  him  in  his  hour  of  greatest  need,  Frederick 
was  resolved  not  to  enter  again  into  an  alliance  with 
a  country  in  which  a  change  of  cabinet  might  mean 
a  revolution  in  foreign  policy.  Many  ministers  had 
risen  and  fallen  since  George  III.  ascended  the  throne ; 
and  though  Chatham  was  now  in  power,  and  able  to 
lead  England  where  he  would,  in  a  twelvemonth  he 
might  be  in  opposition  again,  and  deprived  of  any 
influence  over  the  destinies  of  the  country.  Nor  was 
it  only  a  well  founded  objection  to  the  want  of  con- 
sistency in  English  foreign  policy  that  induced 
Frederick  to  reject  Chatham's  advances  :  an  important 
change  had  also  taken  place  in  his  own  situation.  He 
had  recently  become  the  ally  of  his  former  enemy, 
Russia,  and  was  already  deeply  immersed  in  the  tangled 
game  of  Polish  politics,  playing  it  with  a  skill  which  was 
to  be  rewarded  in  a  few  years  by  the  first  partition  of 
Poland.  Engaged  upon  such  work,  he  was  not  likely  to 
receive,  nor  indeed  to  need,  the  assistance  of  England. 
Secure  against  another  attack  by  Austria  who  was 
not   disposed  to  appeal   against  the  decisive  verdict 


72    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

of  the  Seven  Years  war,  and  with  little  to  fear  from 
France,  Frederick  had  turned  his  face  to  the  east, 
and  could  afford  to  dispense  in  safety  with  the  English 
alliance.  England,  indeed,  needed  him  far  more  than 
he  needed  England ;  and,  although  he  kept  Chatham 
in  play  for  some  weeks,  it  was  never  his  intention  to 
come  to  terms,  and,  before  the  year  was  out,  it  was 
perfectly  clear  that  it  was  useless  to  continue  the 
negotiation.  The  disappointment  was  serious,  for, 
if  Chatham  had  succeeded  in  concluding  the  alliance, 
not  only  would  the  country  have  been  removed  from 
her  dangerous  isolation,  but  something  would  have 
been  done  towards  reviving  the  glorious  memories  of 
his  first  administration.  He  had  staked  not  a  little, 
including  his  reputation,  upon  a  successful  throw  of 
the  dice,  and  fortune  played  him  false.1 

It  was  hardly  a  happy  beginning  for  a  ministry 
which,  constituted  as  it  was  in  direct  defiance  of  the 
political  experience  of  the  previous  half-century,  re- 
quired to  be  justified  by  success ;  and,  unfortunately 
for  Chatham,  failure  abroad  was  accompanied  by  the 
commission  of  an  illegal,  if  necessary,  action  at  home. 
An  exceptionally  bad  summer  had  ruined  the  harvest, 
and  consequently  raised  the  price  of  corn  ;  and  in 
several  districts  the  lower  classes,  brought  to  the  verge 
of  starvation,  and  inflamed  by  the  belief  that  their 
distress  was  being  aggravated  by  dealers  withholding 
corn  from  the  market,  broke  out  into  riot  and  dis- 
order, stormed  granaries,  and,  seizing  upon  supplies 
of  grain,  distributed  them  at  low  prices  amongst 
themselves.  No  government  could  allow  such  flagrant 
lawlessness  to  continue  unchecked,  but,  as  coercion 
might  only  increase  the  mischief,  it  was  wiser  to  dis- 
sipate the  fear  of  famine  and  restore  public  confidence 

1  Von  Ruville's  William  Pitt,  Graf,  von  Chatham,  vol.  iii.  chap.  10. 


THE  MINISTRY  ON  ITS  TRIAL  73 

by  forbidding  any  further  exportation  of  corn  from 
the  country.  To  do  this,  however,  the  intervention 
of  parliament  was  legally  necessary,  for  under  the 
existing  law  exportation  continued  permissible  until 
the  price  of  corn  at  home  had  risen  to  fifty-three 
shillings  and  fourpence  a  quarter,  a  level  which,  in 
spite  of  the  scarcity,  it  had  not  yet  attained.  As 
parliament  was  not  then  in  session,  much  valuable 
time  would  be  wasted  before  the  necessary  statutory 
change  could  be  effected  ;  and  the  severity  of  the 
crisis  might  be  pleaded  in  favour  of  a  course  of  action, 
difficult  to  justify  by  the  strict  letter  of  the  law. 
Chatham  and  his  colleagues  were  decidedly  of  the  opinion 
that  no  time  was  to  be  lost,  and,  on  September  24th,  the 
privy  council  placed  an  embargo  upon  any  further 
exportation  of  corn  from  the  country.  That  in  so 
doing  the  council  exceeded  its  legal  authority  cannot 
be  doubted,  since  it  had  taken  upon  itself  to  exercise 
a  power  of  suspending  law,  which  it  certainly  did  not 
possess  ;  but  the  necessity  had  been  so  urgent  that 
it  might  be  anticipated  that  the  ministers  would  escape 
hostile  criticism  in  parliament.  The  Rockingham 
party  was  not  at  all  likely  to  condemn  the  action  of 
the  government,  for  Newcastle  had  attended  the 
meeting  of  the  council,  and  warmly  approved  all  that 
had  been  done  ;  1  and  the  Duke  of  Bedford  was  equally 
reluctant  to  take  up  the  cudgels  against  the  ministers. 
If  it  had  not  been  for  Grenville  and  Lord  Temple, 
the  administration  might  have  counted  upon  immunity 
from  attack  ; 2  but,  though  all  might  remain  silent, 
Grenville,  to  whose  legal  and  pedantic  intelligence 
such    a    point    proved    irresistibly    attractive,    was 

1  Add.  MS.,  32977,  f.  160. 

2  Add.  MS.,  32977,  f.  332  ;  Bedford  Correspondence,  3,  353-354  ;  Grenville 
Papers,  3,  337. 


74   LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

determined  to  bring  home  to  the  ministers  that,  how- 
ever great  had  been  the  necessity,  they  had  been 
guilty  of  a  violation  of  the  law  of  the  land. 

Parliament  met  on  November  nth,  1766.  In  the 
king's  speech  the  embargo  was  mentioned,  but  there 
was  no  reference  to  its  illegal  character,  and  this 
natural  reticence  was  maintained  in  the  addresses 
of  both  houses.  It  is  very  probable  that  the  omission 
was  not  due  to  a  desire  to  refrain  from  giving  a  point 
of  attack,  but  rather  to  a  misconception  on  the  part 
of  the  ministers  of  the  position  in  which  they  stood. 
At  the  meeting  of  the  privy  council,  which  had  issued 
the  embargo,  Camden,  the  lord  chancellor,  had 
declared  "  that  the  king's  ordinary  prerogative  did 
not  empower  his  majesty  to  do  it  ;  but  that  by  the 
constitution,  and  by  all  constitutions,  there  must  be 
a  power  to  save  the  whole,  the  salus  populi  ;  that, 
if  this  was  the  case,  if  there  was  such  a  necessity,  then 
there  was  that  power  to  do  it."  x  Dangerous  as  such 
a  doctrine  was,  and  suggestive  more  of  the  age  of  the 
Stuarts  than  the  Hanoverian  era,  the  members  of  the 
privy  council  may  be  forgiven  for  accepting  their 
law  from  the  lord  chancellor.  But,  if  they  believed 
their  action  to  be  legal,  they  were  to  be  quickly  un- 
deceived by  parliament ;  for,  though  the  addresses 
passed  in  both  houses  without  a  division,  the  govern- 
ment was  obliged  to  listen  to  some  very  sharp  criticism  ; 
and  the  situation  was  not  improved  by  Lord  Camden 
repeating  the  same  theory  of  the  constitution  as  he 
had  expounded  to  the  privy  council.  Lord  Mansfield, 
playing  the  very  unwonted  role  of  a  champion  of 
liberty,  denounced  the  embargo  as  an  illegal  encroach- 
ment upon  the  freedom  of  the  subject,  and  Lord 
Temple  demanded  that  the  ministers  should  introduce 

1  Add.  MS.,  32977,  f.  160. 


THE  MINISTRY  ON  ITS  TRIAL  75 

an  indemnity  bill  to  cover  their  own  illegality.  In 
the  lower  house  Grenville,  true  to  his  word,  branded 
the  king's  servants  as  law-breakers,  and  it  was  un- 
deniably fortunate  for  the  government  that  both  the 
Bedfords  and  Rockinghams  abstained  from  taking 
part  in  the  attack.  When  Grenville  found  that  he 
was  almost  alone,  he  inquired  of  Rigby  what  the 
members  of  his  party  were  going  to  do,  and  received 
as  an  answer,  "  We  are  to  do  nothing,  but,  so  help  me 
God,  as  I  am  a  man  of  honour,  it  is  not  by  my 
advice."  1 

Sharp  as  much  of  the  criticism  had  been,  Chatham 
had  indeed  cause  for  exultation  if  he  could  take  the 
first  day  of  the  session  as  an  omen  for  the  future ;  for 
the  proceedings  had  been  characterised  by  the  entire 
absence  of  any  co-operation  between  the  enemies  of 
the  administration.  The  Rockinghams  and  Bedfords 
had  stood  aside  while  Grenville  led  the  attack  ;  and, 
if  each  of  the  various  parties  continued  to  act  in 
isolation,  the  ministers  might  confidently  look  forward 
to  a  comfortable  and  easy  session.  An  adept  politician 
would  have  carefully  weighed  the  parliamentary  forces, 
and  framed  his  conduct  accordingly  ;  but  Chatham, 
who  was  singularly  defective  in  political  strategy,  and 
far  too  careless  of  details  ever  to  be  a  really  successful 
parliamentary  leader,  threw  away  an  advantage, 
which  he  ought  to  have  tenderly  cherished,  by  wilfully 
inflicting  an  insult  upon  the  men  whom  he  should 
have  conciliated.  Two  days  after  the  meeting  of 
parliament,  he  informed  Lord  Edgecumbe,  the  treasurer 
of  the  household  and  a  follower  of  Rockingham,  that 
he  must  resign  his  office  in  favour  of  Shelley,  a  politician 
of  little  account,  who  had  deserted  his  uncle,  the  Duke 

1  Grenville  Papers,  3,  382-384;  Walpole's  Letters,  7,  72-74  ;  Bedford  Corre- 
spondence, 3,  354  ;   Hist.  MSS.  Comra.  Stopford  Sackville  MSS.,  1,  114-117. 


76    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

of  Newcastle,  in  order  to  attach  himself  to  Chatham. 
It  is  difficult  to  perceive  any  sufficient  justification  for 
this  treatment  of  Edgecumbe  ;  and  the  treasurer  of 
the  household,  justly  offended  that  so  worthless  a 
creature  as  Shelley  was  preferred  to  him,  was  not  to  be 
appeased  by  the  stately  compliments  of  Chatham  who 
told  him  that  "  his  majesty  did  not  mean  to  show 
any  slight  or  disregard  to  his  lordship,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  he  hoped  it  would  be  a  means  of  his  having 
him  nearer  his  person  in  a  more  distinguished  office, 
and  that  the  king  for  that  purpose  wished  to  have  him 
of  his  bedchamber."  Aware  that  he  was  being  kicked 
upstairs,  Edgecumbe  was  not  to  be  won  by  fine  words, 
and  caustically  remarked  that  "  he  thought  himself 
rather  too  old  to  come  up  three  hundred  miles  twice 
or  thrice  in  a  year  to  have  the  honor  of  putting 
on  the  king's  shirt."  x 

Thus,  for  no  apparently  better  reason  than  that 
a  sycophant  should  be  given  a  place,  Edgecumbe 
was  told  to  go  ;  but  insults  have  a  way  of  recoiling 
upon  those  who  inflict  them.  Chatham  had  indeed 
made  a  dangerous  enemy,  for  not  only  might  the  dis- 
missed treasurer  of  the  household  take  his  revenge 
by  using  his  considerable  electioneering  influence  in 
the  counties  of  Devon  and  Cornwall  against  the 
government  ;2  but  also,  through  him,  his  friends,  the 
Rockingham  whigs,  had  been  insulted,  and  they  might 
be  expected  to  resent  the  affront.  Indeed,  the  time  had 
come  for  them  to  take  decisive  action,  to  look  to  their 
arms  and  means  of  defence  ;  for  there  was  good  reason  to 
believe  that  the  dismissal  of  Edgecumbe  was  not  intended 
to  be  a  solitary  event,  but  the  opening  of  a  carefully 
thought-out  campaign.     Hints  had  been  dropped  that 

1  Add.  MS.,  32977,  f.  394. 

2  Walpole's  Memoirs  of  the  Reign  of  George  III.,  2,  267. 


THE  MINISTRY  ON  ITS  TRIAL  77 

there  might  be  some  unpleasant  changes  in  the 
ministry,  and  Lord  Monson,  another  follower  of 
Rockingham,  had  already  been  told  that  he  must 
resign  the  chief  justiceship  in  eyre,  directly  a  suitable 
successor  could  be  found.1 

In  view  of  Chatham's  minatory  attitude,  the  Rock- 
inghams  can  hardly  be  accused  of  surrendering  to 
panic  if  they  foresaw  danger  and  disaster  looming 
ahead.  Indeed,  they  would  have  failed  in  their  duty 
if  they  had  not  seized  the  occasion  to  reconsider  their 
policy.  It  was  clear  that  if,  adhering  to  their  original 
resolution,  they  continued  to  give  an  unconditional 
support  to  the  administration,  they  would  not  only 
lose  their  prestige  in  the  political  world,  and  acquire 
an  unenviable  reputation  for  patient  endurance  of  the 
whips  and  scorns  of  the  prime  minister,  but  also  run 
a  serious  risk  of  complete  shipwreck.  They  might 
see  their  friends  one  by  one  driven  from  the  govern- 
ment, and  all  their  hopes  of  winning  their  way  into 
the  ministry  through  their  allies  in  office  brought 
to  nothing.  They  must  check  the  evil  before  it  had 
gone  too  far,  and  clearly  intimate  to  Chatham  that 
their  support  in  parliament  was  strictly  dependent 
upon  his  good-will  towards  them.  Nor  were  they  as 
powerless  against  the  minister  as  might  superficially 
appear,  for  in  Henry  Conway  they  had  a  weapon 
which,  if  adroitly  enough  used,  might  inflict  a  mortal 
wound.  If  Conway  responded  to  the  call  of  his  party, 
and  refused  to  continue  to  serve  the  man  who  had  so 
wantonly  outraged  his  friends,  Chatham  might  be 
driven  hard  to  find  another  secretary  of  state,  and 
discover  too  late  that,  in  order  to  satisfy  a  whim,  he 
had  destroyed  his  own  administration. 

Few  statesmen  have  been  placed  in  a  more  delicate 

1  Add.  MS.,  32977,  f.  198,  f.  390. 


78    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

and  painful  situation  than  Conway  at  this  moment, 
and  few  have  issued  more  pitiably  out  of  the  crisis 
of  their  lives.  Well  equipped  in  many  respects  to 
play  a  great  part  in  public  life,  intelligent,  conscien- 
tious, and  industrious,  he  never  succeeded  in  attaining 
greatness,  and  the  failure  was  not  accidental.  He 
lacked  that  faith  in  himself,  that  confidence  in  his 
own  destiny,  without  which  no  man  can  rise  above 
mediocrity  ;  and,  when  the  time  of  trial  came,  Conway 
revealed  his  weakness,  and,  instead  of  seeking  to  mould 
events,  allowed  them  to  mould  him.  Yet,  much  as 
there  is  to  condemn  in  his  conduct,  it  must  not  be  for- 
gotten that  it  was  a  cruel  and  relentless  fate  which 
called  him  to  endure  such  an  ordeal.  Maintaining 
cordial  and  intimate  relations  with  his  old  whig 
friends,  and  still  regarding  Rockingham  as  in  a  certain 
sense  his  leader,  he  was  torn  between  duty  to  his 
country  and  loyalty  to  his  party.  If  he  continued  to 
act  under  Chatham  after  the  treatment  meted  out  to 
Edgecumbe,  he  would  lie  open  to  the  accusation  of 
treachery  towards  those  by  whose  side  he  had  once 
fought  and  conquered ;  and  if,  on  the  other  hand,  he 
followed  Edgecumbe  into  retirement,  he  must  be 
prepared  to  meet  the  charge  of  preferring  the  triumph 
of  a  faction  to  the  greatness  of  his  country.  Which- 
ever course  he  adopted,  his  conduct  lay  open  to  mis- 
construction, and  would  certainly  be  misconstrued  ; 
and,  fearing  to  put  his  fate  to  the  touch,  he  fell  to 
playing  the  part  of  the  Hamlet  of  the  political 
world. 

The  unhappy  situation  of  the  secretary  of  state 
was,  however,  a  golden  opportunity  for  his  friends  to 
strike  a  blow  at  Chatham.  Conway  first  heard  of 
Edgecumbe's  dismissal  on  Monday,  November  17th, 
and   at   once   sent   for   Rockingham   who   arrived   to 


THE  MINISTRY  ON  ITS  TRIAL  79 

find  him  horrified  and  aghast  at  the  prime  minister's 
conduct,  and  uncertain  what  he  ought  to  do. 
"  General  Conway,"  Rockingham  informed  Newcastle, 
"  felt  equally  this  dismission,  both  in  regard  to  its 
being  of  one  of  the  corps,  and  also  as  being  of  a  person 
who  had  enjoyed  the  late  Duke  of  Devonshire's  friend- 
ship, and  who  at  my  desire  had  brought  into  parliament 
gratis,  not  more  than  six  months  ago,  General  Conway's 
nephew,  Lord  Beauchamp  "  ;  and  thus  a  situation, 
already  sufficiently  involved,  was  further  complicated 
by  considerations  of  private  friendship.1  What  Conway 
would  do,  no  one,  least  of  all  himself,  knew,  and  if 
the  Rockingham  whigs  were  to  reap  the  full  advan- 
tage of  the  situation,  they  must  drive  him  into  taking 
action.  Subjected  to  the  right  amount  of  pressure, 
properly  applied,  he  might  be  induced  to  abandon 
office,  carrying  Chatham  with  him  in  his  fall ; 2  and  the 
problem  before  the  Rockingham  whigs  was  how 
they  could  persuade  their  indecisive  friend  to  take 
so  decisive  a  step.  "  What  his  decision  will  be  I 
cannot  say,"  wrote  the  marquis.  "  Perhaps  his  con- 
duct depends  upon  ours."  3 

It  was  to  deal  with  this  question,  and  to  frame 
a  plan  of  campaign,  that  the  leaders  of  the  party 
assembled  at  Rockingham's  house  on  Wednesday, 
November  19th.  They  were  informed  that  "  something 
must  be  done  to  show  spirit,  to  keep  our  friends  to- 
gether, and  to  encourage  Mr  Conway  to  persist  in  the 
good  disposition  he  was  in  at  present.  That,  if  nothing 
was  done,  the  party,  and  all  the  friends  of  the  late 

1  Add.  MS.  32977,  f.  415.  Horace  Walpole,  however,  affirms  that  it  was 
Rockingham  who  reminded  Conway  of  his  personal  obligations  to  Edgecumbe. 
Walpole's  Memoirs  of  the  Reign  of  George  III.,  2,  267. 

2  Rockingham  reported  that  Conway  had  threatened  resignation  to 
Chatham,  who  had  replied  that  in  that  event  he  also  would  retire.  Add. 
MS.,  32978,  f-  I. 

3  Add.  MS.,  32977,  f.  415,  f.  421  ;   Rockingham  Memoirs,  2,  19-24. 


80    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

administration,  would  be  weeded  out  by  degrees,  our 
friends  angry  and  discouraged,  and  everything  left 
to  the  arbitrary  disposition  of  my  Lord  Chatham 
without  any  check  or  control,"  and  the  truth  of  this 
statement  was  too  obvious  to  require  much  explana- 
tion or  to  evoke  a  lengthy  discussion.  It  was  almost 
unanimously  agreed  that  four  leading  members  of 
the  party,  the  Duke  of  Portland,  the  Earl  of  Scar- 
borough, the  Earl  of  Bessborough,  and  Lord  Monson 
should  resign  their  places  in  the  administration,  that 
"  further  resignations  in  the  house  of  commons  might 
follow  afterwards "  ;  and  that  Conway  should  be 
informed  of  what  his  friends  intended  to  do.  Thus 
the  order  for  retreat  was  sounded,  and  it  was  antici- 
pated that  the  secretary  of  state  would  feel  impelled 
by  every  instinct  of  honour  to  follow  his  old  friends 
into  retirement.  If  they  so  publicly  repudiated 
Chatham  and  all  his  works,  he  would  seem  to  have 
no  alternative  but  to  do  the  same  ;  and  thus  Edge- 
cumbe  might  be  avenged  by  the  downfall  of  the 
ministry.  It  was  still  open,  indeed,  for  Chatham 
to  save  himself  and  his  administration,  but  only  at 
the  price  of  a  confession  of  wrong-doing  and  the 
reinstatement  of  the  dismissed  treasurer  of  the 
household. 

In  the  best  laid  schemes,  however,  there  must 
always  lurk  an  element  of  uncertainty,  and  the  success 
of  this  method  of  attack  upon  the  government  de- 
pended entirely  upon  Conway's  action.  It  is  true 
that  all  present  at  the  meeting,  with  a  single  exception, 
believed  that  he  would  retire  when  so  peremptorily 
called  upon  to  do  so  ;  but  that  single  exception  was 
the  Duke  of  Newcastle  who,  though  he  assented  to 
the  opinion  of  the  majority  for  the  sake  of  preserving 
unity,  did  not  approve  the  plan.     He  was  as  anxious 


THE  MINISTRY  ON  ITS  TRIAL  81 

as  those,  from  whom  he  differed,  to  keep  the  party 
together,  and  to  protect  it  against  the  onslaught  of 
Chatham  ;  but  his  wider  and  more  varied  acquaintance 
with  political  life  enabled  him  to  perceive  dangers 
hidden  from  less  experienced  eyes.  He  dreaded  a 
fiasco,  arguing  with  no  little  force  that  many  members 
of  the  party,  dependent  upon  politics  for  a  living, 
might  be  very  loath  to  resign  their  places,  and  that, 
even  if  the  resignations  were  successfully  executed, 
Conway,  instead  of  being  driven  to  retire,  might  take 
offence  at  the  factious  conduct  of  his  friends,  and 
continue  in  office.  If  indeed  this  came  about,  the  last 
state  of  the  Rockingham  party  might  easily  be  worse 
than  the  first ;  for  Chatham,  deprived  of  the  services 
of  Portland  and  his  friends,  and  threatened  by  their 
avowed  hostility,  might  purchase  safety  by  an  alliance 
with  the  Bedford  party  or  the  adherents  of  Lord  Bute. 
Time  was  to  prove  that  Newcastle  was  not  far  from 
the  truth  ;  but  his  arguments  fell  upon  deaf  ears,  and 
it  could  have  been  but  sorry  comfort  for  him  to  reflect 
that  he  was  wiser  than  his  friends.1 

In  accordance  with  the  approved  procedure,  the 
Duke  of  Portland  waited  upon  Conway  on  Friday, 
November  21st,  and  informed  him  of  the  storm  which 
was  about  to  burst  upon  the  administration.  Though, 
naturally  enough,  much  agitated  by  the  intelligence, 

1  Add.  MS.,  32977,  f.  445  ;  Add.  MS.,  32978,  f.  1  ;  Rockingham  Memoirs, 
2,  19-24.  A  few  days  later  Newcastle  received  information  which  confirmed 
him  in  his  opinion  :  "  I  think  myself  obliged  to  acquaint  your  grace,"  he  wrote 
to  the  Duke  of  Portland,  "  that  I  have  great  reason  to  fear,  and  indeed  to  know, 
that  the  resignations  will  not  be  received  by  the  party  in  the  manner  it  was 
imagined  ;  nor  be  generally  or  at  all,  followed  by  those  in  employment  in 
the  house  of  commons.  .  .  .  Lord  Rockingham  is  extremely  mistaken  as 
to  the  behaviour  of  his  friends,  and  particularly  the  Townshends  upon  this 
occasion.  Tommy  Townshend  of  the  treasury,  Charles  Townshend  of  the 
admiralty,  and  George  Onslow  have  agreed  to  act  together  ;  they  were  all 
against  resignations,  and  have  now,  as  I  am  informed,  determined  not  to 
resign."  Add.  MS.,  32978,  f.  51.  It  was  from  George  Onslow  himself  that 
Newcastle  acquired  this  information,  f.  64. 


82    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

for  he  saw  himself  driven  to  make  a  final  choice  be- 
tween Chatham  and  the  whig  cause,  Conway  evinced 
no  displeasure ;  but  he  pleaded  for  delay,  on  the  ground 
that  Grafton  had  been  with  him  that  morning,  and 
had  held  out  hopes  of  Edgecumbe  receiving  proper 
satisfaction.  The  request  was  reasonable  enough, 
but,  though  Portland  acceded  to  it,  he  very  explicitly 
explained  that  "  the  satisfaction  to  Lord  Edgecumbe 
must  be  immediate,  that  assurances  must  be  given 
to  the  party  of  .  .  .  respect  and  countenance,  that 
they  must  stand  as  forward  to  be  provided  for  as  any 
other  persons  whatever,  and  that  he  must  be  admitted 
to  that  confidence  and  those  communications  which 
would  alone  give  us  security  for  any  promises  that 
might  be  made  in  the  present  emergency."  1 

To  these  terms  Conway  cordially  agreed,  but  he 
was  well  aware  how  gloomy  the  outlook  was.  He  had 
little  reason  to  hope  that  Chatham  would  condescend 
to  reinstate  Edgecumbe,  or  even  to  make  him  suitable 
reparation  ; 2  and  yet,  unless  this  was  done,  the  resigna- 
tions would  take  effect,  and  Conway  would  be  forced 
to  declare  himself  on  one  side  or  the  other.  With  a 
sincerity,  which  cannot  possibly  be  mistaken,  he  told 
Portland  that  "  he  had  not  had  a  happy  moment  since 
his  embarking  (I  understood)  a  second  time  ;  and  that, 
if  he  only  consulted  his  own  ease  of  mind  and  body, 
he  should  not  stay  one  moment  in  employment/' 3 
Like  a  drowning  man  he  was  ready  to  clutch  at  any 
means  of  salvation,  and  the  proverbial  straw  happened 
to  float   across  his  path.      Lord    Bessborough,  joint 

1  Add.  MS.,  32978,  f.  11  ;  Rockingham  Memoirs,  2,  19-24.  The  letter  in 
the  Rockingham  Memoirs  is  misdated  by  one  day. 

2  The  day  before  he  visited  Conway,  Portland  remarked  in  a  letter,  "  all 
that  I  learn  is  that  Conway  has  been  with  my  Lord  Chatham,  and  finds  him 
inflexible."     Add.  MS.,  32977,  f.  449. 

3  Add.  MS.,  32978,  f.  11. 


THE  MINISTRY  ON  ITS  TRIAL  83 

postmaster  general,  and  one  of  the  four  peers  who 
had  agreed  to  retire  in  the  event  of  Chatham  proving 
obstinate,  suddenly  proposed  that,  in  any  case,  he 
should  give  up  his  office,  and  that  it  should  be  given 
to  Edgecumbe  who  would  thus  receive  ample  com- 
pensation for  the  loss  of  the  treasurership  of  the  house- 
hold. Much  could  be  urged  superficially  in  favour 
of  Bessborough's  suggestion,  for  there  was  reason  to 
believe  that  Edgecumbe  would  be  more  than  satisfied 
with  such  an  arrangement ;  and  no  time  was  lost  by 
Conway  in  submitting  the  proposal  to  Chatham.1 
But,  if  Conway  was  exultant  over  the  change  in  the 
political  situation,  seeing,  at  last,  a  gleam  of  hope  on 
the  horizon,  Newcastle  and  Rockingham  were  cor- 
respondingly despondent.  Aggrieved  not  unnaturally 
with  Bessborough  for  acting  so  precipitately  without 
taking  them  into  his  confidence,  they  repudiated  his 
proposal  in  the  name  of  the  party.  This  unfortunate 
step  in  our  friend,  my  Lord  Bessborough,"  wrote 
Newcastle,  "  has  quite  ruined  everything  when  there 
were  the  best  appearances  "  ;2  and  this  gloomy  judg- 
ment was  not  so  very  wide  of  the  mark.  Edgecumbe 
might  be  content  to  have  the  post  office,  and  Bess- 
borough willing  to  put  up  with  the  bedchamber  which 
Edgecumbe  had  scornfully  rejected  ;  but  the  happiness 
of  these  two  noblemen  had  not  been  the  object  of  an 
elaborate  political  intrigue.  Bessborough  had  either 
forgotten,  or  had  never  realised,  that  Edgecumbe  was 
simply  being  used  as  a  weapon  with  which  to  wound 
Chatham ;  and,  though  the  latter  might  possibly  agree 

1  Chatham  Correspondence,  3,  130.  The  letter  is  dated  Friday,  November 
24th,  an  obvious  slip  for  Friday,  November  21st,  the  day  on  which  Conway 
first  heard  the  news.  The  letter  begins,  "  Having  this  moment  heard  a  thing," 
a  phrase  which  he  would  hardly  have  used,  if  his  information  was  already 
three  days  old. 

2  Add.  MS.,  32978,  f.  41. 


84    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

to  make  Edgecumbe  joint  postmaster  general,  such 
a  concession  would  by  no  means  satisfy  the  demands 
of  either  Newcastle  or  Rockingham.  They  desired 
some  guarantee  that  the  prime  minister  would  not 
continue  to  inflict  insults  upon  their  followers,  driving 
them  one  by  one  from  the  ministry  ;  and  any  con- 
cordat, which  omitted  this  fundamental  condition, 
might  well  work  the  destruction  of  the  Rockingham 
party.  Bessborough,  in  spite  of  all  his  good  inten- 
tions, had  indeed  been  guilty  of  a  serious  error  in 
tactics,  and  his  blundering  threatened  to  prevent 
his  friends  from  effectively  stemming  the  tide  of 
Chatham's  arrogance,  and  to  give  Conway  an  easy 
excuse  for  continuing  in  office. 

Yet,  the  alarm  aroused  in  Newcastle  and  Rocking- 
ham was  shown  to  be  unnecessary ;  for  Chatham,  blind 
to  his  good  fortune,  absolutely  declined  to  consider 
Bessborough's  proposal,  or,  indeed,  to  make  any  con- 
cession whatever.  All  hope  of  a  reconciliation  having 
vanished  by  November  26th,1  the  four  peers  resigned 
their  places,  and  their  example  was  followed  by  Sir 
Charles  Saunders,  the  first  lord  of  the  admiralty, 
and  two  members  of  the  same  board,  Admiral  Keppel 
and  Sir  William  Meredith.  That  other  resignations 
did  not  follow  may  be  attributed  to  a  natural  reluct- 
ance on  the  part  of  politicians,  who  had  secured  a  com- 
fortable office,  to  cast  themselves  once  more  adrift  ; 
but,  though  numerically  more  restricted  than  had  been 
intended,  the  secession  was  undoubtedly  a  striking 
demonstration  against  the  prime  minister's  arbitrary 
conduct.  Whether,  however,  it  was  to  be  anything 
more  than  a  demonstration  depended  upon  Conway. 
The  moment  for  decisive  action  had  found  him  as 
wavering    and    irresolute    as    ever.      Shortly    before 

1  Add.  MS.,  32978,  f.  78. 


THE  MINISTRY  ON  ITS  TRIAL  85 

vacating  his  office,  Portland  told  Newcastle  that 
"  Conway  does  not  resign  at  present,  but  tells  me 
he  thinks  he  shall  not  stay,  and  seems  further  to  be 
of  opinion  that  upon  the  principles  Lord  Chatham 
has  adopted,  it  is  impossible  for  the  administration 
to  last  long  "  ; x  but  the  days  passed  by,  and  Conway, 
a  prey  to  irresolution  and  doubt,  still  continued  in 
office.  His  brother,  Lord  Hertford,  and  his  most 
intimate  friend,  Horace  Walpole,  were  urgent  in  per- 
suading him  that  the  whigs  were  using  him  for  their 
own  selfish  ends  ;  and,  from  the  other  side,  Rockingham 
and  the  Cavendishes  were  calling  to  him  to  resign  on 
grounds  of  honour  and  decency.  In  such  circum- 
stances the  boldest  man  might  have  passed  through 
a  period  of  doubt  ;  and  Conway  is  worthy  of  blame, 
not  because  he  stumbled  on  the  road,  but  because 
he  never  arrived  at  his  destination.  Compelled  to 
make  a  choice  between  Rockingham  and  Chatham, 
he  never  made  it  ;  he  was  neither  for  God  nor  for  the 
Devil.  Though  he  continued  as  secretary  of  state, 
the  thought  of  resignation  was  never  out  of  his  mind, 
and  twice  in  the  house  of  commons  he  significantly 
described  himself  as  a  passenger  in  the  administration.2 
Nor,  if  Horace  Walpole  is  to  be  trusted,  did  he  ever 
forgive  Chatham  :  "  the  wound  rankled  so  deeply  in 
Mr  Conway's  bosom,  that  he  dropped  all  intercourse 
with  Lord  Chatham  ;  and,  though  he  continued  to  con- 
duct the  king's  business  in  the  house  of  commons, 
he  would  neither  receive  nor  pay  any  deference  to  the 
minister's  orders,  acting  for  or  against  as  he  approved 
or  disliked  his  measures."  3 

Thus,    though    Conway    continued    to    sit    in    the 
cabinet,  his  value  to  Chatham  was  seriously  diminished  ; 

1  Add.  MS.,  32978,  f.  78.  2  Grenville  Papers,  3,  396. 

3  Memoirs  of  the  Reign  of  George  III.,  ii.  273. 


86    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

and  this  was  not  the  only  consequence  of  the  dismissal 
of  the  treasurer  of  the  household.  The  Rockingham 
whigs,  who  had  previously  been  disposed  to  refrain 
from  opposing  the  ministry,  were  now  inclined  to 
adopt  a  more  hostile  attitude.  They  had  sought 
peace,  and  had  been  insulted  for  their  pains ;  and 
the  natural  conclusion  to  draw  was  that  the  time 
had  come  to  exchange  the  olive  branch  for  the  sword. 
It  was  necessary  to  wait  for  a  fitting  opportunity  for 
attack ;  but,  when  that  moment  came,  there  would  be 
nothing  to  restrain  Rockingham  and  his  followers 
from  entering  upon  the  battle  into  which  they  had 
been  provoked.  It  was  better  to  perish  fighting  than 
to  be  led  like  victims  to  the  slaughter. 

Yet,  in  spite  of  the  threatening  danger,  Chatham 
appeared  almost  magnificently  careless  of  the  future. 
Except  for  the  loss  of  Sir  Charles  Saunders  and  Admiral 
Keppel,  whose  services  he  valued,  he  troubled  little 
about  the  withdrawal  of  the  Rockingham  whigs  from 
the  administration.  He  looked  to  the  court  for  help 
in  his  time  of  trouble,  assuring  Grafton,  panic  stricken 
by  the  rising  storm,  that  "  the  closet  is  firm,  and  there 
is  nothing  to  fear."  *  He  was  as  determined,  as  when 
he  had  originally  taken  office,  that  his  ministry  should 
reflect  the  opinions  of  all  political  parties  ;  and,  to  fill 
the  vacancies  caused  by  the  recent  resignations,  he 
began  a  negotiation  with  the  Duke  of  Bedford.  The 
restricted  character  of  his  offer,  for  it  was  only  proposed 
that  Gower  should  be  master  of  the  horse,  Lord  Wey- 
mouth postmaster,  and  Rigby  cofferer,  conclusively 
condemned  it  in  the  eyes  of  the  Bedfords  who  coveted 
the  first  lordship  of  the  admiralty',  left  vacant  by  the 
resignation  of  Sir  Charles  Saunders ;  but  neither 
George   III.    nor   Chatham   were   prepared   to   forego 

1  Grafton's  Autobiography,  p.  107. 


THE  MINISTRY  ON  ITS  TRIAL  87 

their  crusade  against  the  party  system  for  the  sake 
of  acquiring  the  support  of  the  Woburn  confederation. 
'  A  contrary  conduct,"  wrote  the  king  at  this  time, 
"  would  at  once  overturn  the  very  end  proposed  at 
the  formation  of  the  present  administration  ;  for  to 
rout  out  the  present  method  of  parties  banding 
together,  can  only  be  obtained  by  a  withstanding 
their  urgent  demands,  as  well  as  the  engaging  able 
men,  be  their  private  connections  where  they  will."  * 
This  might  be  true  enough,  but  the  effect  of  such  a 
policy  was  to  drive  George  III.  and  Chatham  into  the 
highways  and  hedges  for  ministers  ;  and,  failing  to  come 
to  terms  with  the  Bedfords,  they  filled  the  vacant 
places,  for  the  most  part,  with  adherents  of  Lord  Bute. 
It  is  true  that  Sir  Edward  Hawke,  who  succeeded 
Saunders  at  the  admiralty,  was  a  most  distinguished 
seaman,  and  cannot  be  counted  as  belonging  to  any 
political  party  ;  but  both  Jenkinson  and  Brett,  who 
succeeded  Keppel  and  Meredith  on  the  admiralty 
board,  were  well-known  followers  of  Bute,  and  when 
Bute's  heir,  Lord  Mount  Stuart,  moved  Jenkinson's 
new  writ  in  the  house  of  commons,  members  smiled 
at  one  another.2  But,  though  men  might  smile  to  see 
Chatham  conferring  places  upon  such  insignificant 
politicians,  they  might  well  weep  when  they  saw  Lord 
Despenser  introduced  into  the  administration  in  the 
capacity  of  joint  postmaster  general.  Better  known 
by  his  earlier  title  of  Sir  Francis  Dashwood,  Despenser 
had  not  only  obtained  a  widespread  and  almost  un- 
rivalled reputation  for  profligacy,  but  had  also  given 
ample  proof  of  his  administrative  inefficiency  during 
the  time  that  he  served  Bute  as  chancellor  of  the 
exchequer.  If  the  consequence  of  the  destruction  of 
the  party  system  was  to  be  that  politicians  of  this 

1  Chatham  Correspondence,  3,  137.  2  Add.  MS..  32978,  f.  168. 


88    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

stamp  were  to  be  given  a  voice,  however  subordinate, 
in  the  government  of  the  country,  wise  men  might 
begin  to  look  back  with  affectionate  regret  upon  the 
worst  days  of  whig  supremacy.  It  was  quite  certain 
that  the  changes  in  the  ministry  were  not  directed  to 
the  promotion  of  efficiency,  nor  likely  to  elicit  the  con- 
fidence of  the  nation  :  The  strength  the  government 
will  acquire  by  all  these  promotions,"  wrote  Portland 
to  the  Duke  of  Newcastle,  '  I  leave  your  grace  to 
judge  of  ;   it  cannot  want  any  comment."  * 

Yet,  when  parliament  rose  on  December  15th  for 
the  Christmas  holidays,  Chatham  appeared  to  have 
more  than  held  his  own,  and  to  have  triumphed  over 
his  enemies.  But,  victorious  though  he  had  been, 
the  session  had  not  been  free  from  incidents  which 
might  have  suggested  to  the  more  thoughtful  sup- 
porters of  the  government  that  it  was  time  to  pause. 
In  order  to  protect  from  legal  proceedings  the  custom 
house  officers  who,  acting  under  the  illegal  order  of 
the  privy  council,  had  prevented  the  exportation  of 
corn,  Conway  had  introduced  an  indemnity  bill, 
thus  affording  Grenville  an  opportunity  for  con- 
tinuing the  attack  which  he  had  begun  on  the  first 
day  of  the  session.  Nor  were  his  criticisms  without 
effect.  As  originally  framed,  the  bill  only  applied  to 
those  who  had  acted  under  the  embargo ;  but,  in  the 
course  of  its  passage  through  the  lower  house,  Conway 
was  obliged  to  extend  it  to  those  who  had  advised  the 
measure,  thus  overthrowing  Camden's  constitutional 
defence  of  the  ministerial  action,  and  emphasising, 
somewhat  unpleasantly,  that  the  king's  servants,  how- 
ever justified  they  had  been  by  necessity,  had  been 
guilty  of  a  breach  of  the  law  to  which  they  at  first 
had  been  unwilling  to  own.     And  this  was  not  the  only 

1  Add.  MS.,  32978,  f.  135. 


THE  MINISTRY  ON  ITS  TRIAL  89 

change  that  was  made.  In  the  original  preamble  to 
the  bill  it  was  affirmed  that  the  embargo  could  not 
be  justified  by  the  strict  rules  of  law,  an  ambiguous 
and  undoubtedly  misleading  statement  which  did  not 
escape  Grenville's  notice,  and  which  was  finally 
amended  by  the  omission  of  the  word  "  strict." 1 
Thus,  though  the  bill  was  carried  by  substantial 
majorities,  success  had  not  been  achieved  without  mak- 
ing somewhat  damaging  concessions  ;  and,  although 
the  ministers  might  plume  themselves  upon  a  victory, 
they  owed  it  in  no  small  degree  to  the  support  they 
received  from  the  majority  of  the  followers  of  Bedford 
and  Rockingham.  But  there  was  little  assurance  that 
such  assistance  would  be  continued  in  the  future.2 
The  indemnity  bill,  save  to  a  man  like  Grenville  bent 
upon  opposition  at  all  cost,  was  hardly  a  contentious 
measure  ;  and  the  Rockingham  whigs,  originally  well 
disposed  towards  the  government,  had,  in  the  course 
of  the  session,  been  driven  by  Chatham  himself  to 
think  more  of  attack  than  of  conciliation.  They  were 
biding  their  time,  and,  when  that  time  came,  they 
would  not  fail  to  strike. 

Thus,  in  view  of  the  actual  situation,  Chatham 
might  have  gained  applause  for  his  political  wisdom 
if  he  had  confined  his  activities  within  a  narrow  and 
non-disputatious  sphere,  and  carefully  abstained  from 
pursuing  a  policy  likely  to  provoke  opposition  or  alarm 
vested  interests.  But,  whatever  were  his  faults,  and 
they  were  many,  he  was  never  deficient  in  courage,  or 
wanting  in  obedience  to  his  sense  of  duty  ;  and  no  man 
was  less  disposed  to  refrain  from  action  for  fear  of 

1  Hist.  MSS.  Comm.  Stopford  Sackville  MSS.,  i,  114-117. 

2  Edmund  Burke  and  Rigby  sometimes  joined  Grenville  in  opposing  the 
government,  and  if  the  preamble  had  not  been  amended,  Rockingham  wa 
prepared  to  attack  it  in  the  house  of    lords,  and  was  anxious  for  Newcastle 
to  do  the  same.     Add.  MS.,  32978,  f.  204,  f.  208,  f.  215,  f.  221. 


90   LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

giving  a  handle  to  his  enemies.  He  had  issued  from 
his  retirement  into  the  glare  of  public  life,  inspired 
by  no  selfish  seeking  after  power,  but  convinced  that 
there  was  work  to  be  done  for  England,  which  no  one 
but  he  could  do  ;  and  no  sooner  had  he  taken  office 
than  he  addressed  himself  to  a  task  which,  if  success- 
fully accomplished,  would  materially  add  to  his  re- 
nown, but  which  was  undeniably  attended  by  many 
and  great  dangers.  This  undertaking  was  no  other 
than  an  inquiry  into  the  affairs  of  the  East  India 
Company,  with  a  view  to  revising  the  existing  rela- 
tions between  that  corporation  and  the  state  ;  and 
the  enterprise  was  not  only  fraught  with  dangers 
and  difficulties,  but  might  easily  afford  an  opportunity 
for  an  attack  upon  the  government,  in  which  the 
Rockingham  whigs  might  join  and  thus  revenge  them- 
selves for  what  they  had  suffered  at  the  hands  of 
Chatham.  The  minister  was  well  aware  of  the  perils 
of  the  voyage  on  which  he  was  setting  out,  of  the 
strange  and  stormy  seas  he  would  be  obliged  to 
traverse  ;  but  he  believed  himself  called  upon  to  meet 
an  urgent  necessity,  and  took  his  political  life  into 
his  hands. 

Time  had  indeed  wrought  a  change  in  the  fortunes 
of  the  East  India  Company,  and  most  impartial  men, 
though  differing  as  to  its  scope,  agreed  in  thinking  that 
some  sort  of  an  inquiry  was  necessary.  Originally 
a  purely  trading  association,  the  company  had  become 
possessed,  more  by  chance  than  by  design,  of  terri- 
torial power,  and,  from  comparatively  humble  begin- 
nings, had  risen  to  be  the  ruler  of  a  vast  and  increasing 
dominion.  As  the  result  of  the  Seven  Years  war, 
Bengal  and  the  adjacent  states  passed  under  its  in- 
fluence ;  and  the  overthrow  of  the  French  in  India, 
which  was  a  consequence  of  the  same  conflict,  removed 


THE  MINISTRY  ON  ITS  TRIAL  91 

the  last  effective  barrier  to  the  extension  of  its 
authority.  With  revenues  now  swelled  from  other 
sources  than  those  of  trade,  connected  by  treaties 
with  native  princes,  and  deeply  immersed  in  the 
tangled  and  tortuous  politics  of  the  east,  the  company 
was  burdened  with  new  and  weighty  responsibilities 
which  it  was  not  well  adapted  to  discharge.  It  is 
proverbial  that  traders  are  rarely  qualified  for  the 
enjoyment  of  independent  political  power,  since  their 
immediate  aim  being  the  acquisition  of  wealth  they 
are  under  the  temptation  to  sacrifice  everything  that 
stands  in  the  way  of  the  attainment  of  this  end.  Nor, 
indeed,  was  there  any  reason  to  believe  that  the  East 
India  Company  would  prove  an  exception  to  this  rule  ; 
on  the  contrary,  every  indication  existed  to  show  how 
unworthy  it  was  to  be  entrusted  with  the  government 
of  what  might  one  day  develop  into  a  mighty  empire, 
and  that,  however  successful  it  had  been  in  trade, 
it  was  incompetent  and  inefficient  as  a  sovereign  ruler. 
A  mutiny  among  the  company's  native  troops  in  the 
spring  of  1766  pointed  a  moral  which  had  already  be- 
come sufficiently  clear,  and  it  was  seriously  anticipated 
that  an  empire,  which  had  been  acquired  by  valour 
and  skill,  would  be  lost  by  mismanagement  and  cor- 
ruption. Nor  were  these  the  only  evils  that  the  state 
was  called  upon  to  redress.  The  majority  of  English- 
men, unable  to  distinguish  between  public  and  private 
gain,  and  dazzled  by  the  spectacle  of  men  returning, 
after  a  comparatively  brief  sojourn  in  the  east,  en- 
riched beyond  the  wildest  dreams  of  avarice,  were 
led  to  believe  that  the  company  was  as  wealthy  as 
its  servants.  As  nothing  was  known,  everything  was 
believed,  and  every  nabob,  who  returned  to  flaunt  his 
opulence  in  the  face  of  an  envious  and  credulous  public, 
helped  to  confirm  and  spread  the  legend  of  the  vast 


92    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

and  inexhaustible  resources  of  the  company.  In  any 
civilised  community  it  needs  but  a  spark  to  fire  the 
gambling  spirit  latent  in  all  men,  and,  as  speculation 
in  East  India  stock  had  already  begun,  there  was  no 
little  danger  of  a  repetition  of  the  catastrophe  of  the 
South  Sea  Bubble.  It  was  the  imperative  duty  of  the 
state  to  check  the  evil  before  it  attained  more  danger- 
ous proportions;  and  therefore,  both  on  grounds  of 
policy  and  morality,  the  government  was  called  upon 
to  undertake  a  scrutiny  into  the  affairs  of  the  company. 
The  perils  attending  such  an  inquiry  would,  how- 
ever, be  many.  Those  whose  interests  were  con- 
cerned in  allowing  the  company  to  fill  its  coffers  from 
the  revenues  of  Bengal,  those  who  thought  more  of 
plenty  than  of  power,  and  were  indifferent  to  what 
happened  as  long  as  their  capital  earned  a  substantial 
return,  bitterly  resented  any  interference  by  the 
government  ;  and  the  most  determined  opposition 
might  be  expected  from  the  city,  once  the  stronghold 
of  Chatham's  influence.  The  cry  was  certain  to  be 
raised  that  the  rights  and  privileges  of  all  corporations 
were  endangered,  that  the  attack  upon  the  East  India 
Company  was  only  the  first  of  a  series,  and  that  soon 
charters  would  be  of  no  greater  value  than  the  parch- 
ment upon  which  they  were  written.  That  not  a  little 
selfish  greed,  ignorance,  and  malice,  lay  at  the  bottom 
of  this  outcry  did  not  make  it  any  less  formidable  ; 
but  Chatham,  though  he  had  used  the  support  of 
the  people  as  a  stepping-stone  to  power,  was  not  of 
the  order  of  demagogues  who  defer  to  public  opinion 
in  and  out  of  season.  He  emphatically  declared  that 
the  question  of  the  company  was  "  the  greatest  of  all 
objects,  according  to  my  sense  of  great,"  J  and  this  was 
no  bombastic  utterance  but  the  expression  of  a  fully 

1  Grafton's  Autobiography,  pp.  101-102. 


THE  MINISTRY  ON  ITS  TRIAL  93 

formed  determination.  Action  speedily  followed  upon 
words  ;  and,  at  the  end  of  August,  the  Duke  of  Grafton, 
acting  as  Chatham's  spokesman,  informed  the  chair- 
man and  deputy  chairman  of  the  company  that  East 
India  affairs  would,  in  all  probability,  be  brought  before 
parliament  in  the  forthcoming  session.1  The  directors, 
appreciating  the  significance  of  the  hint,  understood 
that  the  most  politic  course  to  pursue  was  to  refrain 
from  giving  any  further  handle  to  their  critics ;  but  the 
proprietors  of  stock  were  far  less  discreet,  and  at  a 
general  court,  held  on  September  24th,  a  dividend  of 
ten  per  cent,  was  declared  as  a  mark  of  defiance  to  the 
government,  and  in  direct  opposition  to  the  wishes  of 
the  directors.  This  was  a  singularly  futile  proceeding, 
for  it  neither  inspired  the  public  with  confidence  nor 
intimidated  the  ministers.2  On  November  25th,  Beck- 
ford,  well  known  to  be  in  Chatham's  confidence,  intro- 
duced a  motion  into  the  house  of  commons  for  exam- 
ining into  the  company's  affairs ;  and,  shortly  before 
parliament  rose  for  the  Christmas  holidays,  it  was 
resolved  that  copies  of  the  grants  made  to  the  com- 
pany, and  statements  of  the  revenues  it  enjoyed,  should 
be  laid  before  the  house.3 

Thus  the  attack  was  begun,  and  Horace  Walpole 
was  able  to  write  that  the  session  had  ended  "  very 
triumphantly  for  the  great  earl."  4  The  triumph, 
however,  was  but  on  the  surface  ;  and  it  would  appear 
that  Chatham,  however  laudable  his  courage,  was 
guilty  of  undue  haste  and  precipitation,  and  failed  to 
obtain  success  in  this  daring  venture  because  he  did 
not   deserve  it.     The  ministers  were  divided  on  the 

1  Chatham  Correspondence,  3,  57-60;   Grenville  Papers,  3,  322-323. 

2  Bedford    Correspondence,    3,    344-346  ;    Grenville    Papers,    3,    323-325  ; 
Chatham  Correspondence,  3,  90-93. 

3  Chatham  Correspondence,  3,  144,  n.  1  ;   Walpole's  Memoirs,  2,  287-290. 

4  Walpole's  Letters,  7,  77-79- 


94    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

question  of  the  proper  policy  to  be  pursued  in  regard 
to  the  affairs  of  the  east,  and  can  fairly  be  charged 
with  beginning  a  serious  and  important  undertaking 
too  much  in  the  spirit  of  haphazard  enterprise. 
Chatham,  himself,  was  convinced  that  an  essential 
preliminary  to  any  successful  negotiation  with  the 
company  was  a  parliamentary  decision  upon  its  right 
to  the  revenues  it  received  as  a  territorial  ruler ;  while 
Charles  Townshend  and  Conway  were  in  favour  of 
leaving  this  point,  which  would  certainly  prove  con- 
tentious, out  of  consideration,  and  coming  to  terms 
with  the  company  without  delay.1  Such  a  funda- 
mental divergence  of  opinion  necessarily  brought  with 
it  divided  counsels,  and  militated  against  success  ; 
and  this  was  not  the  only  danger  which  menaced  the 
future  safety  of  the  administration  ;  for  what  threatened 
to  be  a  sword  of  division  to  the  ministers  seemed  likely 
to  prove  a  bond  of  union  to  their  opponents.  It  was 
ominous  for  the  future  that  in  the  division,  which 
concluded  the  debate  on  November  25th,  many  of  the 
Rockingham  whigs  were  found  in  the  minority,  fight- 
ing side  by  side  with  George  Grenville  and  the  fol- 
lowers of  the  Duke  of  Bedford.  Both  Charles  Yorke 
and  Edmund  Burke  distinguished  themselves  by  the 
fierceness  of  their  opposition  to  the  government,2 
and  their  conduct  was  well  pleasing  to  their  leaders. 
Newcastle  declared  himself  "  convinced  upon  most 
mature  consideration,  that  the  general  inquiry  into  the 
private  state  of  a  great  company,  acting  under  a  legal 
charter,  without  any  fact  alledged,  or  the  least  com- 
plaint made,  is  of  most  urgent  consequence,"  and  was 
delighted  to  find  that  Rockingham  shared  the  same 
opinion.3 

1  Grafton's  Autobiography,  p.  109;    Grenville  Papers,  3,  331-336. 

2  Add.  MS.,  32978,  f.  86.  3  Add.  MS.,  32978,  f.  244,  f.  404. 


THE  MINISTRY  ON  ITS  TRIAL  95 

The  leaders  of  the  ministry  might  indeed  regard 
the  future  with  anxiety.  Rockingham,  driven  to 
abandon  his  pacific  attitude  by  Chatham  himself, 
was  now  in  favour  of  what  he  called  a  general  opposi- 
tion, though  he  was  careful  to  explain  that  by  "  general 
opposition  he  always  meant  upon  such  points  only  as 
were  wrong  in  themselves."  *  This  limitation,  however, 
was  not  likely  to  prove  very  restrictive  in  practice, 
and  would  certainly  not  prohibit  a  defence  of  the  East 
India  Company  which  the  marquis  and  his  followers, 
apparently  conscientiously,  thought  to  be  unjustifiably 
attacked.  Moreover,  in  championing  the  rights  of 
that  corporation,  they  could  count  upon  the  assistance 
of  Grenville  and  Bedford  ;  and  it  might  reasonably 
be  contended  that  the  time  had  now  come  for  the 
different  sections  of  the  opposition  to  unite.  However 
much  they  differed,  they  were  at  least  agreed  on  the 
East  India  question  which  seemed  likely  to  absorb 
public  attention  for  some  time  to  come ;  and,  as  it  was 
certain  that  if  they  continued  to  fight  separately,  and 
without  any  common  plan  or  organisation,  the  ad- 
ministration would  prevail,  it  might  be  well  to  sink 
their  differences,  and  unite  in  defence  of  what  they  all 
believed  to  be  a  righteous  cause.  Newcastle,  taught 
by  his  rich  political  experience,  was  warmly  in  favour 
of  an  alliance  with  the  Duke  of  Bedford  who  was 
rumoured  to  be  quite  prepared  to  come  to  terms  ; 
but  the  difficulty  in  the  way  was  George  Grenville.2 
It  was  extremely  unlikely  that  Bedford  would  agree 
to  any  alliance  in  which  Grenville  was  not  included  ; 
for  close  and  friendly  relations  existed  between  their  two 
camps,  and  they  had  much  in  common,  especially  on 
questions  where  they  differed  from  Lord  Rockingham. 

1  Add.  MS.,  32978,  f.  404. 

'  Add.  MS.,  32978,  f.  15,  f.  27,  f.  35,  f.  281,  f.  285,  f.  309. 


96    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

Grenville  had  been  first  lord  of  the  treasury,  and 
Bedford  president  of  the  council,  in  the  adminis- 
tration that  had  imposed  the  stamp  act  which 
Rockingham  had  repealed;  and  thus  they  had  the 
same  grievance  against  the  party  which  had  reversed 
their  measure.  But  Grenville  was  far  more  identified 
than  Bedford  with  the  taxation  of  America,  and  far  more 
bitterly  hostile  to  the  colonial  policy  of  the  Rockingham 
ministry  ;  and  it  was  assumed  that,  if  he  was  ever 
given  an  opportunity,  he  would  continue  the  work 
which  he  had  begun  with  the  imposition  of  the  stamp 
act.  Thus  Rockingham  and  his  followers  were  con- 
fronted with  a  difficult  situation  calling  for  delicate 
handling.  They  were  prepared  to  conclude  an  alliance 
with  Bedford,  and  even  with  Grenville  ;  but  it  was 
reported  that  the  latter,  in  the  event  of  an  administra- 
tion being  formed,  demanded  the  treasury  either  for 
himself  or  his  brother,  Lord  Temple,1  and  such  a 
request  would,  indeed,  prove  a  stumbling  block.  Valu- 
able as  was  the  support  of  the  Bedford  party,  the 
promise  of  the  treasury  to  Grenville  was  a  very  heavy 
price  to  pay  for  it,  and  Rockingham  was  able  to  point 
out  "  how  strange  it  would  appear  to  the  public  .  .  . 
to  make  him  a  principal,  after  you  had  spent  a  whole 
session  in  tearing  to  pieces  all  that  he  had  done  while 
in  the  treasury."  2  That  the  objection  was  well  founded 
is  undeniable,  for  Rockingham  and  his  followers  would 
have  forfeited  the  respect  of  all  honest  men  if  they 
had  consented  to  sit  in  an  administration  presided 
over  by  Grenville.  But  it  was  by  no  means  certain 
that  the  Duke  of  Bedford  was  prepared  to  espouse 
Grenville's  claim  to  the  treasury ;  and  Newcastle, 
understanding   that,  without   some   addition   to  their 

1  Add.  MS.,  35362,  f.  48  ;    Rockingham  Memoirs,  2,  28-29. 

2  Add.  MS.,  32978,  f.  299  ;    Rockingham  Memoirs,  2,  31-32. 


THE  MINISTRY  ON  ITS  TRIAL 


97 


parliamentary  strength,  it  was  very  dangerous  for  his 
friends  to  begin  a  contest  with  the  government,  pressed 
for  overtures  to  be  made  to  Woburn  ;  but  to  this  scheme 
Rockingham  was  opposed,  favouring  postponement 
in  the  hope  of  "  making  a  better  bargain  about 
George  Grenville."  *  But  it  was  Newcastle's  opinion 
which  at  first  prevailed ;  for,  though  Rockingham  still 
continued  to  believe  that  Bedford  would  demand  the 
treasury  for  Grenville,  and  that  the  wisest  policy  was 
to  do  nothing,  it  was  decided  at  a  meeting,  held  at 
Claremont  on  December  17th,  that  Lord  Bessborough 
should  approach  Lord  Gower.2  At  the  last  moment, 
however,  this  scheme  was  abandoned ;  for  when  it  was 
imparted  to  Portland  and  Albemarle,  they  both  loudly 
protested  against  it,  arguing  that  if  overtures  were  made 
to  the  Bedfords,  they  would  gain  an  exaggerated  idea 
of  their  own  importance,  and  consequently  raise  their 
terms  ; 3  and,  as  Portland  and  Albemarle  were  important 
members  of  the  party,  whose  opinions  could  not  be 
safely  disregarded,  Newcastle  was  compelled  to  relin- 
quish his  much-cherished  project,  and  seek  comfort 
in  the  reflection  that  an  alliance  with  the  Bedford 
party  might  have  driven  him  and  his  friends  head- 
long into  factious  opposition.4  Rockingham  was, 
naturally  enough,  well  pleased  that  what  he  had  never 
approved  should  not  be  done  ;  5  but,  when  all  that 
could  be  said  in  favour  of  inaction  had  been  urged,  it 
remained  undeniably  true  that  the  Rockingham  whigs 
were  in  an  unpleasantly  dangerous  situation.  They 
had  broken  with  Chatham,  and  were  determined  to 
oppose  his  East  Indian  policy ;  but  they  were  no 
stronger   in   parliament    than   before,    and   Newcastle 


1  Add.  MS.,  32978,  f.  299. 

»  Add.  MS.,  32978,  f.  378,  f.  414. 

6  Add.  MS.,  32978,  f.  418. 

G 


s  Add.  MS.,  32978,  f.  404. 
4  Add.  MS.,  32978,  f.  484. 


98   LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

must  have  found  much  sorrowfully  to  agree  with  in 
Bessborough's  frank  statement  that  "  as  things  stand 
at  present,  you  certainly  have  no  plan  at  all,  no  system, 
nor  do  we  know  one  another's  minds  :  all  is  afloat, 
excepting  in  a  very  small  set  of  men,  who  can  make  but 
a  very  small  appearance  in  any  division,  and  though 
honest  and  men  of  honour,  yet  they  make  but  a  very 
insignificant  figure  in  regard  to  any  material  business 
in  parliament,  and  are,  'tis  true,  laughed  at,  and  all 
this  arises  from  a  want  of  knowing  one  another's  minds, 
and  being  properly  connected,  and  knowing  what  to 
do,  for  we  have  neither  plan,  system,  method,  or 
scheme."  x  Hard  as  these  words  were,  they  were 
only  too  bitterly  true ;  and  though  it  was  easy  for 
Rockingham,  ever  inclined  to  look  on  the  bright  side 
of  things,  to  declare  that  "  in  regard  to  the  ideas 
among  our  friends  in  the  country  .  .  .  they  are 
as  right  as  right  can  be,"  2  good  intentions,  alone, 
are  apt  to  be  of  little  value  when  brought  into 
contact  with  the  hard  facts  of  parliamentary  life. 
However  great  the  determination  to  oppose  the 
evil  deeds  of  the  government  might  be,3  the 
ability  to  render  opposition  effective  remained  very 
doubtful. 

Yet,  evil  as  was  the  plight  of  the  Rockingham 
whigs,  there  were  some  of  the  ministers  who  thought 
their  own  fate  to  be  but  little  better.  On  the  rising 
of  parliament  for  the  Christmas  holidays  Chatham 
set  out  for  Bath,  where  he  was  to  remain  for  many 
weeks  ;  and,  in  his  autobiography,  Grafton  deplores 
that  his  leader  was  "  not  sensible,  nor  would  he  be 
persuaded,  of  the  many  difficulties  under  which  his 
administration    labored,    though    they    were    viewed 

1  Add.  MS.,  32978,  f.  488.  *  Add.  MS.,  32979,  f.  143. 

3  Add.  MS.,  32978,  f.  436  ;  Add.  MS.,  32979,  f.  143. 


THE  MINISTRY  ON  ITS  TRIAL  99 

with  real  concern  by  the  nation  at  large."  1  Nor  were 
the  difficulties  slow  in  making  themselves  felt.  In 
the  absence  of  the  prime  minister,  detained  week 
after  week  by  a  more  than  usually  acute  fit  of  gout, 
it  fell  to  Grafton,  as  first  lord  of  the  treasury,  to 
preside  over  the  cabinet ;  and,  though  always  "  pleased 
the  Almighty's  orders  to  perform/'  the  young  duke 
was  certainly  deficient  in  that  power  which  "  rides 
in  the  whirlwind  and  directs  the  storm."  He  was 
destined  to  experience  to  the  full  all  the  evils  of  a 
divided  and  ill-assorted  administration,  and  to  be- 
come a  plaything  in  the  hands  of  fate  and  Charles 
Townshend.  For  it  was  now  that  Townshend,  freed 
from  all  effective  control,  and  careless  of  conse- 
quences, began  to  play  the  part  of  a  mischievous 
sprite,  and  to  teach  the  country  that  too  heavy  a 
price  might  be  exacted  for  the  privilege  of  having 
a  witty  and  high-spirited  minister.  Down  to  its 
final  doom  the  government  passed  with  headlong 
force ;  and,  when  Chatham  returned  to  London  in 
the  spring  of  1767,  he  was  to  find  his  ministry 
in  full  enjoyment  of  the  discredit  which  it  richly 
deserved. 

It  was  in  the  affairs  of  the  East  India  Company 
that  Townshend  first  displayed  a  tendency  to  pursue 
a  policy  independently  of  Chatham.  Believing,  unlike 
the  prime  minister,  that  it  would  be  wise  to  conclude 
immediately  a  bargain  with  the  company,  and  waive 
the  question  of  its  right  to  its  territorial  revenues,  he 
found  himself  favoured  by  circumstances  ;  for  at  a 
general  court,  held  on  the  last  day  of  the  year,  1766, 
the  directors  were  empowered  "  to  treat  with  ad- 
ministration upon  all  such  points,  in  the  general  state 
of  the  company,  as  they  shall  judge  to  be  most  re- 

1  Grafton's  Autobiography,  p.  109. 


100     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

quisite  and  conducive  to  the  extending  their  commerce, 
securing  their  possessions,  and  perpetuating  the  pros- 
perity of  the  company."  Acting  upon  these  instruc- 
tions, the  chairman  and  deputy-chairman  presented. 
Grafton  on  January  8th  with  a  paper,  specifying  the 
points  upon  which  they  were  prepared  to  treat  with 
the  government ;  and,  as  might  have  been  expected, 
while  they  asked  for  a  renewal  of  their  charter,  their 
right  to  the  revenues  they  drew  from  subject  pro- 
vinces was  not  included  amongst  the  questions  for 
discussion.1  Chatham,  to  whom  the  offer  was  sub- 
mitted at  Bath,  did  not  conceal  his  disgust,  and 
rightly  attributed  the  unfavourable  turn  events  had 
taken  "  to  the  unfortunate  original  difference  of 
opinions  among  the  king's  servants  .  .  .  which  shook 
the  whole  foundation  of  this  great  transaction." 2 
Worse  news  was  to  follow ;  for  when  East 
India  affairs  were  under  discussion  in  the  house 
of  commons  on  Tuesday,  January  20th,  and  the 
following  Thursday,  Townshend,  not  only  revealed 
that  a  negotiation  with  the  company  was  on  foot, 
but  frankly  avowed  his  difference  of  opinion  with 
Chatham.  He  roundly  declared  that  "  the  East 
India  Company  had  a  right  to  their  territorial 
revenues,"  and,  according  to  Beckford,  "  uttered 
so  many  kind  and  comfortable  words  for  their  con- 
solation, that  the  stock  rose  the  next  and  the  succeed- 

1  Chatham  Correspondence,  3,  149,  163  ;  Hist.  MSS.  Comm.,  12th  Report, 
Appendix,  Pt.  ix.;  Donoughmore  MSS.,  p.  260;  Weston  Underwood  MSS., 
401.  It  is  impossible  to  say  with  certainty  that  Townshend  had  any  part 
in  persuading  the  company  to  make  overtures  to  the  government ;  but  that  it 
should  do  so  was  certainly  in  accordance  with  his  policy,  and  it  is  not  without 
interest  that  on  January  7th,  Newcastle  informed  Albemarle  that  the  ministers 
"  are  in  the  highest  spirits  about  their  success  in  the  East  India  affairs.  It 
is  certainly  all  Charles  Townshend's  doing,  who  triumphs  beyond  measure 
upon  it."     Add.  MS.,  32979,  f.  107. 

2  Grafton's  Autobiography,  p.  113. 


THE  MINISTRY  ON  ITS  TRIAL  101 

ing  day  six  per  centum."  Nor  was  the  chancellor 
of  the  exchequer  the  only  mutineer,  for  Conway 
had  also  declared  that  he  was  reluctant  to  permit 
the  company's  territorial  rights  to  be  decided  by  a 
parliamentary  vote.1 

Chatham,  delayed  by  illness  at  Bath,  might  well  be 
appalled  at  hearing  of  the  conduct  of  his  rebellious 
lieutenants  ;  and  he  was  obliged  to  acknowledge  the 
unpalatable  truth  that  they  had  succeeded  in  cutting 
the  ground  from  under  his  feet,  at  least  for  the  time 
being.  It  was  impossible  to  expect  the  house  of 
commons,  now  informed  that  a  negotiation  had  been 
begun,  to  set  to  work  to  discuss  an  abstract  question 
of  right  ;  and  Chatham,  though  he  did  not  abandon 
his  point,  was  compelled  by  Charles  Townshend's 
indiscretion  to  alter  his  plan  of  procedure.  '  I  hear," 
he  wrote  to  Shelburne,  "  that  Mr  Townshend  has 
declared  in  the  house  that  a  proposal  from  the  com- 
pany was  upon  the  point  of  being  made.  After  this 
declaration,  and  during  the  pendency  of  a  transaction 
with  the  company,  so  avowed,  I  am  clearly  of  opinion 
that  a  question  for  deciding  the  right  would  not  be 
duly  supported  :  it  is  therefore  become  necessary  to 
delay  going  into  the  consideration  in  the  committee 
till  the  proposal  is  made;  after  that,  and  when  the 
proposal  is  before  the  house,  the  whole  matter  will 
be  under  the  contemplation  and  ripe  for  the  decision 
of  parliament.  ...  I  have  advised  Mr  Beckford, 
by  this  post,  to  put  off  the  consideration  for  a 
fortnight."  2 

Thus  was  Chatham  obliged  to  trim  his  sails  to  the 
breeze   created  by  his  subordinates,   and  it  still  re- 

1  Chatham    Correspondence,   3,    176;    Hist.    MSS.   Comm.   Lothian  MS., 

V-  274- 

2  Chatham  Correspondence,  3,  181. 


102     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

mained  uncertain  whether  his  government  would 
succeed  in  weathering  the  storm.  On  February  7th, 
the  directors  presented  their  definite  proposals  to  the 
cabinet,  and,  encouraged  perhaps  by  Townshend's 
conciliatory  attitude,  they  did  not  err  on  the  side  of 
excessive  moderation.  In  return  for  the  payment  of 
the  sum  of  £500,000,  and  the  promise  of  an  annual  con- 
tribution to  the  state,  they  asked  for  the  renewal  of 
their  charter  for  a  term  of  fifty  years,  and  that  "  their 
late  acquisitions,  possessions,  and  revenues  should  be 
annexed  by  act  of  parliament  to  the  term  to  be  given 
in  the  exclusive  trade."  1  However  objectionable 
such  proposals  might  be,  and  whatever  ambiguities 
they  might  contain,2  it  was  the  duty  of  the  ministers, 
if  they  were  to  execute  Chatham's  wishes,3  to  submit 
them  to  parliament  before  coming  to  any  decision 
upon  them;  but  both  Conway  and  Townshend  were 
in  favour  of  continuing  the  negotiation  with  the 
company,  and  waiting,  until  some  final  conclusion 
had  been  reached,  before  calling  upon  parliament  for 
its  advice  and  ratification.4  In  this,  however,  they 
were  overruled,  and  it  was  agreed  to  lay  the  company's 
terms  before  parliament,  even  though  the  negotiation 
was  but  barely  begun.  Accordingly,  Beckford,  on 
March  6th,  moved  that  the  proposals  should  be  laid 

1  Grafton's  Autobiography,  p.  114  ;   Chatham  Correspondence,  3,  196. 

2  A  good  deal  of  time  was  occupied  by  the  ministers  in  clearing  up,  not 
very  successfully,  doubtful  points  in  the  proposals.  Grafton's  Autobiography, 
1 18-120. 

3  "  I  now  come,"  wrote  Chatham  on  February  9th,  "  to  the  papers  of  the 
6th  of  February  from  the  committee  of  directors.  I  shall  not  enter  into  the 
merits  of  the  proposal.  Parliament  is  the  only  place  where  I  will  declare 
my  final  judgment  upon  the  whole  matter,  if  ever  I  have  an  opportunity  to 
do  it.  As  a  servant  of  the  crown,  I  have  no  right  or  authority  to  do  more 
than  simply  to  advise  that  the  demands  and  the  offers  of  the  company  should 
be  laid  before  parliament,  referring  the  whole  determination  to  the  wisdom 
of  that  place."     Grafton's  Autobiography,  p.  116. 

4  Add.  MS.,  32980,  f.  207  ;  Hist.  MSS.  Comm.  Stopford  Sackville  MSS.,. 
1,  11S  ;   Grafton's  Autobiography,  p.  121. 


THE  MINISTRY  ON  ITS  TRIAL  103 

before  the  house,  and  that  the  papers  of  the  company, 
which  had  been  already  submitted  to  parliament,  should 
be  printed.  Both  motions  were  carried  without  a 
division,  and  further  consideration  of  the  question  was 
postponed  for  a  fortnight ;  but,  though  the  ministers 
had  been  apparently  victorious,  the  debate  had  been 
not  a  little  damaging  to  them  by  revealing  their 
dissensions.  Charles  Townshend  did  not  scruple  to 
utter  his  objections  to  the  course  proposed ;  and  Con- 
way, though  more  moderate  and  restrained,  argued 
that,  as  the  proposals  had  neither  been  approved  nor 
rejected  by  the  cabinet,  the  time  had  not  yet  come  to 
submit  them  to  the  judgment  of  the  house  of 
commons.1 

If  Grafton's  anxiety  for  the  future  was  intensified 
by  the  part  played  by  Townshend  and  Conway  in  the 
debate  on  March  6th,  the  Rockingham  whigs  had 
equally  little  cause  to  feel  satisfied.  There  had  been 
an  opportunity  of  attacking  the  ministry  upon  a 
question,  on  which  they  were  in  agreement  with  the 
Grenvilles  and  the  Bedfords,  and  they  had  failed 
even  to  bring  the  motions  to  the  test  of  a  division. 
'  We  are  much  laughed  at,"  wrote  Newcastle,  "  for 
our  conduct  on  Friday,  and  not  making  use  of  the 
advantages  we  had  from  Charles  Townshend  and 
Conway  "  ;  and  he  could  have  been  but  ill  pleased 
to  learn  from  George  Onslow  that  "  yesterday  was  a 
great  day  for  the  administration  ;  that  they  carried 
their  point ;  that  they  have  put  off  the  East  India 
affair  for  a  fortnight ;  in  which  time  they  will  make 
up  everything  with  Charles  Townshend."  2  If  such 
was  indeed  the  case,  the  enemies  of  the  administration 

1  Add.  MS.,  32980,  f.  217  ;    Grenville  Papers,  4,  213  ;    Walpole's  Letters, 
7,  89-92  ;   Walpole's  Memoirs,  2,  304-305. 

2  Add.  MSS.,  32980,  f.  224,  f.  238. 


104    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

must  strike  a  blow  before  it  was  too  late  ;  and  fortune 
favoured  them.  Rockingham,  much  to  his  joy,  dis- 
covered that  the  order  to  print  the  company's  papers, 
submitted  to  parliament,  was  objected  to,  not  only 
by  his  friends,  but  also  by  the  followers  of  Grenville 
and  Bedford ; x  and  he  was  therefore  encouraged  to  renew 
the  attack  by  a  reasonable  chance  of  success,  and  in 
the  hope  that  something  might  be  done  towards 
promoting  a  permanent  alliance  between  the  parties 
in  opposition.  Newcastle,  as  eager  as  ever  in  his  old 
age  for  the  fray,  was  delighted  to  see  what  he  took 
to  be  the  "  beginning  of  concert  between  Lord  Rock- 
ingham and  the  Bedford  party,"  and  emphatically 
and  truly  enough  declared  that  "  nothing  can  be  done 
without  it,  either  for  the  publick  or  the  party."  2 
Under  such  favourable  conditions  a  plot  was  quickly 
hatched ;  and  in  accordance  with  an  idea,  which 
apparently  originated  with  Rigby,  it  was  arranged 
that  on  Monday,  March  9th,  one  of  the  directors  of 
the  company  should  present  a  petition  to  the  house 
of  commons,  asking  that  the  papers  called  for  should 
not  be  printed.  The  government,  taken  by  surprise, 
found  itself  confronted  by  an  exultant  and  united 
opposition.  Dowdeswell,  Burke,  Rigby,  Grenville,  and 
Charles  Yorke  all  spoke  on  behalf  of  the  company, 
and  how  nearly  they  approached  victory  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that  the  ministerial  motion,  to  adjourn  the 
debate  until  the  following  Wednesday,  was  only  carried 

1  Add.  MS.,  32980,  f.  220.  "  I  have  seen,"  wrote  Rockingham  to  Charles 
Yorke,  "  several  who  are  ready  to  revive  the  subject,  and  oppose  the  printing, 
etc.  Sir  Laurence  Dundas,  after  he  had  been  with  me,  saw  Rigby.  Rigby 
went  to  G.  Grenville,  and  I  met  Rigby  to-night  at  Arthur's  .  Rigby  is  eager, 
and  assures  me  that  G.  Grenville  is  so,  and  will  support  and  vote  heartily. 
They  have  suggested  that  the  best  way  of  bringing  the  matter  on  again  would 
be  by  getting  the  directors  to  apply  to  parliament,  begging  that  the  papers 
may  not  be  printed."     Add.  MS.,  35430,  f.  166. 

*  Add.  MS.,  32980,  f.  238. 


THE  MINISTRY  ON  ITS  TRIAL  105 

by  the  slender  majority  of  thirty-three  votes.1  Even 
this,  however,  was  more  of  a  temporary  check  than  a 
defeat  of  the  opposition  who  looked  forward  to  resum- 
ing the  debate  on  March  nth,  and  nursed  high  hopes 
of  victory.  "  I  don't  think,"  wrote  Lord  Rockingham 
on  the  day  between  the  two  encounters,  "  a  majority 
of  thirty-three  on  a  question  of  adjournment  a  mighty 
matter  of  exultation  for  administration.  ...  I  think, 
with  some  pains,  we  may  add  a  few  more,  and  I  think 
the  Bedfords  and  Grenvillites  may  also  add,  and  I 
hope  for  some  out  of  the  180."2  But  his  expectations 
were  disappointed,  for,  when  March  nth  came,  the 
government  frustrated  its  adversaries  by  beating  a 
retreat.  It  was  proposed  that  only  the  charters  and 
treaties,  and  not  the  correspondence  or  accounts  of  the 
company,  should  be  printed,  and  the  opposition, 
deprived  of  a  contest,  was  reluctantly  obliged  to 
allow  the  motion  to  pass  without  a  division.  The 
ministry  had  triumphed  by  playing  the  old  game 
of  defeating  your  antagonists  by  embracing  their 
opinions.3 

The  course  of  East  India  affairs  had  certainly, 
up  to  this  point,  not  run  any  too  smoothly  for  the 
ministers;  and,  although  they  had  succeeded  in  re- 
maining afloat,  they  had  not  done  much  more.  The 
debates  in  the  house  of  commons  had  revealed  the 
dissensions  in  the  cabinet  to  the  outside  world;  and 
it  was  not  only  in  its  handling  of  this  delicate  and 
intricate  business  that  the  ministry  had  lost  in  pres- 
tige and  weight.  It  had  been  defeated  in  the  house 
of  commons  on  a  financial  measure.  When,  on 
February  27th,  Charles  Townshend  had  proposed  that 

1  Add.  MS.   32980,  f.   248  ;    Walpole's  Memoirs,   2,  306-307  ;    Walpole's 
Letters,  7,  89. 

2  Add.  MSS.,  32980,  f.  250.  3  Add.  MS.,  32980,  f.  262,  f.  264. 


106    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

the  land  tax  should  be  continued  at  the  existing  rate 
of  four  shillings  in  the  pound,  William  Dowdeswell, 
formerly  Rockingham's  chancellor  of  the  exchequer, 
brought  forward  an  amendment  reducing  the  tax 
to  three  shillings  ;  and  the  amended  motion,  sup- 
ported by  all  sections  of  the  opposition,  and  by  not  a 
few  country  members  who,  though  generally  support- 
ing the  government,  were  anxious,  with  a  general 
election  looming  in  the  near  future,  to  please  their 
constituents,1  was  carried  against  the  ministry  by 
eighteen  votes.2  This  attack  was  certainly  not  due 
to  the  inspiration  of  the  moment,  for  it  had  been 
carefully  prepared  beforehand  by  the  Rockingham 
whigs.  Hearing  that  Grenville  intended  to  propose 
a  reduction  of  the  land  tax,  and  alarmed  lest  he  should, 
in  consequence,  acquire  too  much  popularity,3  they 
agreed  to  forestall  him,  and  Newcastle  was  active  in 
whipping  up  supporters  for  Dowdeswell's  motion.4 
That  their  conduct  was  factious,  and  entirely  un- 
worthy of  their  reputation  for  honesty  and  fair  dealing 
must  be  frankly  admitted  by  all  impartial  inquirers. 
It  is  true  that  Dowdeswell  was  able  to  make  out  a 
plausible  case  for  the  reduction ;  but  the  best  of 
politicians  are  only  too  adept  at  defending  a  bad 
cause ;  and  the  heaviest  condemnation  of  the  Rock- 
ingham whigs,  for  their  surrender  to  the  desire  for  mere 
factious  success,  came  from  members  of  their  own 
party.     Burke,   Charles   Yorke,   and  Lord  Albemarle, 

1  George  Cooke,  who,  though  joint  paymaster  general,  voted  for  the  amend- 
ment, defended  his  action  to  Chatham  on  the  ground  that  "  his  particular 
situation  as  member  for  Middlesex,  and  being  chosen  by  the  unanimous  and 
affectionate  voice  of  my  constituents,  rendered  it  impossible  for  me  not  to  vote 
for  the  three  shillings."     Chatham  Correspondence,  3,  222  ;   see  also  224. 

2  Chatham  Correspondence,  3,  224  ;  Grenville  Papers,  4,  211  ;  Hist.  MSS. 
Comm.  Stopford  Sackville  MSS.,  i,  119;  Walpole's  Memoirs,  2,  298  fL 
Grenville  dates  the  debate  February  25th. 

3  Add.  MS.,  32980,  f.  138. 

4  Add.  MSS.,  32980,  f.  147,  f.  149,  f.  151,  f.  153. 


THE  MINISTRY  ON  ITS  TRIAL  107 

all  disapproved  in  different  degrees  of  the  action  of 
their  friends ;  and  if  Admiral  Keppel  agreed  to 
support  the  motion,  it  was  only  after  making  the 
damning  confession  that,  if  Dowdeswell  proposed  the 
reduction,  "  he  believed  he  should  be  for  it ;  but  if 
Mr  Grenville  moved  it,  he  should  certainly  be 
against  it."  x 

A  ministry,  which  deserved  and  enjoyed  the  con- 
fidence of  the  country,  might  have  afforded  to  despise 
such  an  unworthy  triumph  ;  but  Chatham's  adminis- 
tration was  not  in  a  position  to  endure  with  safety 
even  a  defeat  which  reflected  so  little  discredit.  The 
land  tax  was  the  first  important  measure  lost  by  a 
government  since  the  fall  of  Sir  Robert  Walpole  ; 2 
and  the  catastrophe  had  overtaken  a  cabinet  which 
was  torn  by  internal  dissensions,  and  was  pursuing,  in 
its  negotiation  with  the  East  India  Company,  so 
tortuous  a  road  that  it  was  impossible  to  guess  at  its 
destination.  If  additional  burdens  were  added  to  its 
already  heavy  load,  it  seemed  that  it  must  collapse 
under  a  weight,  already  far  too  heavy  for  its  shoulders  ; 
and  it  was  an  ironical  stroke  of  fate  that  imposed  upon 
an  administration,  which  had  already  proved  its  in- 
efficiency up  to  the  hilt,  the  exceedingly  difficult  task 
of  restoring  peace  and  order  in  America.  Unfortun- 
ately it  is  always  easier  to  begin  than  to  stop  a  revolu- 
tion, and  the  colonial  policy  of  the  first  Rockingham 
administration  has  perhaps  been  credited  with  a  greater 
success  than  it  actually  achieved.  The  imposition  of 
the  stamp  act  had  set  ablaze  a  fire  of  rebellion  in 
America,  which  was  by  no  means  utterly  extinguished 
by  the  repeal   of  that  measure.     Agitators  who  had 

1  Add.  MS.,  35362,  f.  63,  f.  65  ;  Add.  MS.,  32980,  f.  144  ;  Hist.  MSS.  Coram. 
Stopford  Sackville  MSS.,  1,  119;   Walpole's  Memoirs,  2,  298  ff. 

2  Walpole's  Memoirs,  2,  301. 


108    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

profited  by  the  late  disturbances,  revolutionary  spirits 
who,  while  willing  to  accept  all  that  England  had  to 
give,  resented  every  demand  of  the  mother  country 
as  a  grievance,  and  sincere  devotees  of  freedom,  who 
believed    that    the    majority    of    English    statesmen 
harboured  a  dark  design  against  colonial  liberty,  all 
combined    to    maintain    an    atmosphere    of    restless 
suspicion.      Though    Rockingham    had    repealed    the 
stamp    act,   he    had    not    been    able    completely   to 
obliterate    the     past ;    and     his    successors    in    office 
were   soon   to   learn   that  the   colonial   problem   had 
received  no  final  solution.     Early  in  February,  1767, 
it    was    known    in    England     that     several     of    the 
colonies   had    refused   obedience   to    the   mutiny   act 
extended    by    Grenville    to    America,   that    many    of 
the   sufferers  by  the   riots  over   the  stamp  act  were 
still    anxiously  awaiting   compensation  for  the   losses 
they   had   incurred,  and   that    the   province   of   New 
York  had  petitioned  parliament  to   be  relieved  from 
the    main    restrictions    imposed    by    the    navigation 
acts.1 

No  wise  observer  could  be  blind  to  the  fact  that 
the  American  problem  called  for  delicate  handling, 
or  be  surprised  that  the  colonists  had  not  instantly 
resumed  a  submissive  and  deferential  attitude  to- 
wards the  mother  country.  Those  who,  like  Lord 
George  Sackville,  believed  that  the  stamp  act  ought 
never  to  have  been  repealed,  of  course  saw  "  the  fatal 
consequences  of  yielding  to  riot  and  ill-grounded 
clamour "  ; 2  but  more  impartial  and  judicious  ob- 
servers perceived  in  these  events  the  last  dying  efforts 
of  a  diminishing  storm.  Yet  it  would  be  a  mistake 
to  imagine  that  those,  who  took  the  more  conciliatory 
view,    were   in    favour   of   granting  the   colonies    all 

1  Hist.  MSS.  Comm.  Stopford  Sackville  MSS.,  i,  118.  »  Ibid. 


THE  MINISTRY  ON  ITS  TRIAL  109 

that  they  chose  to  ask,  and  of  winning  peace  by  further 
and  further  concessions.  As  determined  as  their 
adversaries  to  maintain  the  supremacy  of  the  mother 
country,  they  differed  from  them,  more  in  the 
means  they  adopted,  than  in  the  end  they  sought. 
Their  first  and  greatest  object  must  be  to  restore 
the  confidence  of  the  colonists  in  the  mother 
country,  and  that  could  be  best  achieved  by  a 
happy  blending  of  moderation  and  firmness.  The 
storm  must  be  stilled,  not  forcibly  repressed ; 
and,  above  all,  no  occasion  given  to  the  Americans 
to  believe  that  they  would  forfeit  their  ancient 
rights  and  privileges  by  remaining  under  English 
rule. 

That  such  a  policy  was  difficult  no  one  could  deny, 
but  that  it  was  impossible  would  be  hazardous  to 
assert.  That  all  the  revolutions,  which  have  occurred 
in  history,  were  inevitable  from  the  beginning  may  be 
a  convenient  doctrine  to  hold,  but  it  certainly  does 
not  bear  the  test  of  historical  investigation  ;  and, 
amidst  much  that  is  doubtful  and  open  to  question, 
it  is  abundantly  clear  that,  in  the  year  1767,  an  over- 
whelming majority  of  the  American  colonists  had 
never  contemplated  the  idea  of  severing  the  connection 
with  the  mother  country.  Though  restless  and  dis- 
contented, and  only  too  likely  to  become  the  prey  of 
agitators  who  would,  given  favouring  circumstances, 
work  them  up  to  the  revolution  level,  they  still  re- 
mained for  the  most  part  loyal  to  England  ;  and  on 
this  foundation  might  have  been  based  a  restoration 
of  those  harmonious  relations  which  had  so  recently 
existed.  Moreover,  with  Chatham  in  power,  there 
seemed  a  reasonable  chance  of  such  a  policy  being 
pursued.  Not  only  the  prime  minister,  but  Grafton, 
Shelburne,  and  Conway,  were  well  known  to  be  favour- 


110    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

able  to  the  colonists,  and,  from  his  place  in  the  house 
of  commons,  Chatham  had  denounced  the  stamp  act 
as  actually  illegal,  and  had  applauded  the  resistance 
which  it  had  encountered  in  America.  Drawing  a 
distinction  between  an  external  tax  imposed  for  the 
sake  of  regulating  commerce,  and  an  internal  tax  levied 
in  the  country  itself  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  a 
revenue,  he  had  declared,  while  justifying  the  former 
class  of  impositions,  that  the  latter  was  a  gross  and 
unlawful  infringement  of  the  liberties  of  the  colonists 
who  could  claim,  as  well  as  Englishmen,  to  be  free  from 
taxation  by  any  body  in  which  they  were  not 
represented. 

That  the  distinction  drawn  by  Chatham  had  very 
little  ground  in  fact,  and  is  hardly  capable  of  a  serious 
defence,  would  be  readily  allowed  at  the  present  day ; 
for  it  is  impossible  to  contend  that  the  duties  imposed 
by  parliament  upon  colonial  trade  were  not  taxes 
upon  American  wealth.  Yet,  arbitrary  and  unreal 
as  such  a  doctrine  was,  it  was  not  without  value  at  the 
time  it  was  enunciated ;  for,  while  permitting  the 
mother  country  to  continue  to  restrain  colonial  trade 
in  her  own  interests,  it  entirely  differentiated  from 
such  impositions  an  internal  tax  levied  within  the 
country  ;  and  thus  the  colonists,  happy  in  the  entirely 
fictitious  belief  that  they  were  not  being  taxed  by 
the  mother  country,  might  continue  to  submit  quietly 
to  the  various  commercial  restrictions  imposed  by 
parliament.  The  delusion  was  ruthlessly  exposed 
by  Charles  Townshend  who,  on  January  26th, 
1767,  declared  in  the  house  of  commons  that 
the  distinction  between  internal  and  external  taxa- 
tion was  illusory  and  nonsensical,  that  he  knew 
a  way  of  taxing  the  colonies  without  giving 
offence,  and  that,  in  order   to   increase   the    revenue 


THE  MINISTRY  ON  ITS  TRIAL  111 

from    America    he    was    prepared    to    put    it    into 
effect.1 

Few  men  have  been  simultaneously  so  right  and 
so  wrong  as  Townshend  on  this  occasion.  In  ridicul- 
ing the  doctrine  maintained  by  his  leader,  he  had 
scored  a  sound  academic  point,  and  he  could  justify 
himself  by  the  undeniable  fact  that  the  American 
revenue  had  been  sadly  depleted  by  the  repeal  of  the 
stamp  act  and  the  removal  of  certain  prohibitive 
duties  upon  American  commerce  ; 2  but  anything  less 
statesmanlike  or  more  reckless  than  his  conduct  it 
is  difficult  to  conceive.  Without  consulting  any  of 
his  colleagues,  or  giving  them  the  slightest  intimation 
of  his  intention,3  he  had  not  only  directly  defied  the 
prime  minister,  but  definitely  pledged  himself  to 
impose  taxes  upon  the  colonies  with  the  object  of  ob- 
taining a  revenue  ;  and  the  promise  was  eagerly  wel- 
comed by  a  listening  and  astonished  house.  Whether 
those  taxes  were  internal  or  external  was  now  of  little 
importance,  for  Townshend,  by  his  criminal  folly,  had 
destroyed  a  distinction  which,  however  baseless  in 
fact,  might  have  served  an  useful  political  turn.  The 
colonists,  having  eagerly  accepted  the  doctrine  of. 
"  no  taxation  without  representation,"  now  knew 
that  a  commercial  duty  could  be  made  as  productive 
of  a  revenue  as  an  internal  tax,  and  that  a  weapon 
was  being  forged  for  use  against  them,  which,  without 
being  open  to  the  same  objection  as  the  stamp  act, 
would  cut  quite  as  deeply  into  their  purses  and  their 
liberty.  That  they  might  have  been  more  willing  to 
contribute  towards  the  expenses  of  the  empire,  and 

1  Add.  MS.,  32979,  f.  343;  Grafton's  Autobiography,  p.  126;  Hist.  MSS. 
Comm.  Lothian  MSS.,  274;  Weston  Underwood  MSS.,  402;  Chatham 
Correspondence,  3,  176,  182. 

2  Hist.  MSS.  Comm.  Weston  Underwood  MSS.,  402. 

3  Grafton's  Autobiography,  p.  126. 


112    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

displayed  a  greater  readiness  to  participate  in  its 
burdens  as  well  as  in  its  privileges,  may  be  allowed, 
but  this  does  not  excuse  Charles  Townshend.  His 
crime  is  not  that  he  violated  a  constitutional  principle, 
or  sought  to  fetter  the  colonies  in  slavery  to  England  ; 
but  that,  at  a  time  when  it  behoved  a  wiser  statesman 
to  tread  warily  and  with  caution,  when  everything 
should  have  been  done  to  disarm  American  suspicion, 
he  recklessly,  and  entirely  on  his  own  responsibility, 
fanned  into  active  flame  the  embers  of  a  dying  griev- 
ance. His  fault  was  not  what  he  did,  but  the  time 
he  chose  to  do  it. 

At  the  present  day,  such  behaviour  in  a  subordinate 
would  be  promptly  and  justifiably  met  by  dismissal 
from  the  cabinet  ;   but  Chatham  was  secluded  at  Bath, 
and,  as  Grafton  sadly  admits,  "  no  one  of  the  ministry 
had  authority  sufficient  to  advise  the  dismission  of 
Mr  Charles  Townshend,  and  nothing  less  could  have 
stopped  the   measure."  x     Saddled   with   such   a   col- 
league, the   youthful  first   lord  of   the   treasury,  still 
only  in  his  thirty-second  year,  might  well  scan  the 
future   with   anxiety.     Whatever   business   he   under- 
took, whether  he  dealt  with  the  old  world  or  the  new, 
he  was  confronted  by  the  chancellor  of  the  exchequer 
bent  upon  the  pursuit  of  a  policy  in  direct  conflict  with 
the  wishes  of  the  prime  minister.     If  worse  evils  were 
not  to  follow,  it  was  time  that  Chatham  returned  to 
piece  together  the  shattered  fragments  of  his  authority. 
Starting  from  Bath  about  the  middle  of  February,  he 
was  seized  on  the  road  by  an  attack  of  gout,  and  obliged 
to   rest   at   Marlborough.     There   he   remained   many 
days,  lying  at  the  inn  of  the  town  ;    and  it  was  not 
until  March   2nd  that  he  arrived  in  London.     Much 
had   happened   during  his   absence  ;     and  it   was   no 

1  Grafton's  Autobiography,  p.  126. 


THE  MINISTRY  ON  ITS  TRIAL  113 

peaceful  prospect  that  faced  him  on  his  return.  Ill 
and  suffering  as  he  was,  he  would  be  obliged,  if  his 
hopes  were  to  be  saved  from  shipwreck,  to  perform 
a  task  which,  if  successfully  accomplished,  would 
rank  with  his  greatest  achievements  in  the  past  ;  but 
it  remained  to  be  seen  whether  he  was  equal  to  such 
an  undertaking. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE   RISE   AND   FALL   OF  THE   OPPOSITION 

Chatham's  arrival  in  London,  at  the  beginning  of 
March,  1767,  forms  a  notable  landmark  in  the  history 
of  his  ill-fated  and  disastrous  administration.  No  one 
had  more  eagerly  awaited  his  return  than  Grafton  who, 
convinced  that  his  leader  would  be  able  to  restore 
order  out  of  chaos,  looked  to  be  rewarded  for  having 
toiled  against  hope  in  the  hour  of  adversity.  Nor 
can  his  expectation  be  considered  in  any  way  un- 
reasonable or  unfounded.  Though  no  longer  the 
object  of  that  almost  idolatrous  veneration  which 
had  once  been  paid  him,  Chatham,  illumined  by  the 
lustre  of  his  past  achievements,  was  still  regarded  as 
differing  in  kind,  as  well  as  in  degree,  from  the  other 
politicians  of  the  day,  and  accounted  capable  of  ac- 
complishing feats  which  to  most  men  would  be  well 
outside  the  range  of  possibility.  That  supreme  self- 
confidence,  which  had  once  allowed  him  to  justify  his 
proud  boast  that  he  alone  could  save  England,  might 
be  expected  to  nerve  him  in  the  present  crisis  ;  for 
surely  never  did  the  trumpet-call  to  action  louder 
sound.  Stretched  before  his  eyes  lay  the  ruins  of 
the  administration,  built  by  himself  according  to 
principles  which,  though  derided  by  other  political 
architects  as  eccentric  and  bizarre,  he  believed  to  be 
just  and  sound  ;  and  it  was  for  him  to  repair  the 
edifice    shattered   in   his    absence.     Inspiring   by   his 

114 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION    115 

presence  those  in  whom  hope  was  almost  dead,  rooting 
up  the  evils  which  menaced  the  safety  of  the  state, 
and  routing  the  enemy  who  had  taken  heart  while 
he  dallied  at  Bath,  he  might  by  these  means  rejuvenate 
a  ministry  which  had  fallen  into  the  last  stage  of 
decay.  Few  statesmen  have  been  granted  a  more 
favourable  opportunity  of  increasing  an  already  glorious 
reputation  ;  and,  if  the  task  was  arduous,  the  prize 
was  proportionately  great.  Ten  years  had  elapsed 
since  the  country,  threatened  by  enemies  abroad  and 
incompetence  at  home,  had  turned  to  William  Pitt 
for  deliverance  ;  and  now  again  he  was  needed  to 
repair  the  mischief  which  other  men  had  wrought. 

But  the  hopes  raised  by  the  prime  minister's  return 
to  the  capital  were  doomed  to  a  speedy  and  crushing 
disappointment  ;  for  he  came  back  to  his  labours  a 
changed  and  broken  man,  incapable  of  performing  the 
work  which  lay  ready  to  his  hand.  He  stood  on  the 
eve  of  a  complete  nervous  break-down,  and  betrayed 
all  the  wonted  symptoms  of  mental  distress.  His 
friends,  unaware  of  the  disease  which,  day  by  day,  was 
fastening  its  grip  upon  him,  were  astonished  to  find 
that  all  his  old  vigour  and  determination  had  fled. 
He  declared  himself  unequal  to  the  transaction  of  busi- 
ness, and,  after  making  a  fruitless  attempt  to  remove 
Townshend  from  the  chancellorship  of  the  exchequer 
in  favour  of  Lord  North,  relapsed  into  a  complete  state 
of  inaction,  rarely  seeing  his  colleagues,  and  only  once 
visiting  the  king.  For  a  few  weeks  he  remained  in 
London,  doing  nothing  to  set  right  the  disorganised 
machinery  of  the  government ;  but  it  was  not  long 
before  he  finally  succumbed,  and  retired  to  Hampstead. 
There,  in  a  house  situated  in  a  remote  corner  of  the 
Heath,  and  effectively  screened  from  all  passers-by, 
he  lived   for  many  months  secluded  from  the  world, 


116     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

a  prey  to  an  agony  which,  if  they  had  witnessed  it, 
would  surely  have  moved  his  bitterest  enemies  to  com- 
passion. Without  the  power  of  making  the  most 
trifling  intellectual  effort,  the  least  call  upon  his  energy 
sufficed  to  throw  him  into  a  paroxysm  of  distress  ; 
and  the  statesman,  who  had  controlled  and  dominated 
a  world- waged  conflict,  now  shuddered  at  the  slightest 
reference  to  politics  or  affairs  of  state.  Sometimes  he 
might  be  seen  riding  out  upon  the  Heath,  but  it  was 
but  seldom  that  he  took  such  active  exercise  ;  and,  for 
the  greater  part  of  the  day,  he  remained  within  doors, 
sitting  with  his  face  buried  in  his  hands,  but  rarely 
speaking,  and  generally  alone.1  His  contemporaries, 
unskilled  in  differentiating  between  the  varying  degrees 
of  mental  affliction,  either  thought  him  mad  or  sham- 
ming madness ;  but  he  was  neither  insane  nor  a 
hypocrite.  He  was  but  paying  the  price  of  a  body 
and  mind  overtaxed  in  the  past  ;  and  outraged  nature 
took  her  revenge  at  the  moment  most  inopportune 
for  the  country's  welfare. 

Thus  the  restoration  of  the  ministry,  so  confidently 
expected  by  many,  was  not  to  come  to  pass  ;  and  if 
Charles  Townshend  had  cause  for  exultation  in  the 
removal  of  the  one  man  who  could  have  kept  him  in 
check,  the  burden  of  disappointment  fell  upon  the 
unfortunate  first  lord  of  the  treasury.  What  had 
promised  to  be  the  dawn  of  salvation  suddenly  turned 
into  the  midnight  of  despair  ;  and  Grafton  was  left  to 
preside  over  a  ministry  which  he  had  already  shown 
that  he  could  not  control.  It  would  have  been  well 
for  the  country,  and  well  for  his  own  political  reputa- 
tion, if  he  had  declined  the  task  thus  imposed  upon 
him  ;  but  it  should  always  be  remembered  to  his 
credit  that   it  was   no   unworthy  craving  for   power 

1  Grenville  Papers,  4,  118. 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION    117 

that  induced  him  to  remain  at  his  post.  It  was  im- 
possible to  predict  the  hour  when  Chatham  would  have 
sufficiently  recovered  to  resume  command,  and  Grafton 
believed  it  to  be  his  duty  to  keep  the  ministry  together, 
waiting  his  leader's  return.  If  he  had  resigned,  he 
might  have  acquired  peace  and  security,  and  escaped 
the  censures  of  historians  ;  but,  ignorant  of  what  the 
future  was  to  bring  forth,  he  feared  by  retirement  to 
destroy  the  administration,  and  thus  cast  Chatham 
once  more  adrift  in  political  life.  If  he  acted  wrongly, 
he,  at  least,  had  the  courage  to  persist  in  a  noble,  if 
fatal,  journey  along  the  path  of  greatest  resistance. 
With  all  the  fervent  devotion  of  a  young  man,  he 
sincerely,  almost  passionately,  believed  that  Chatham 
alone  was  capable  of  bringing  salvation  to  a  distraught 
nation,  and  shrank  from  a  course  of  action  which  might 
effectively  prevent  his  hero's  return  to  power.  If 
he  had  viewed  the  situation  from  a  more  critical,  and 
less  partial,  standpoint,  if  he  had  thought  less  of 
Chatham,  and  more  of  his  own  incapacity  to  rule,  it 
would  have  been  better  ;  but,  whatever  were  his  faults, 
they  were  those  of  the  understanding,  not  of  the  heart. 
Yet,  much  as  he  idolised  Chatham,  even  that  de- 
votion might  not  have  sufficed  to  steel  him  to  under- 
take the  task  if  he  had  fully  known  its  magnitude  ; 
and  the  tragedy  of  his  career  lies  in  the  fact  that  he 
so  completely  failed  to  attain  the  end  for  which  he 
endured  the  distasteful  burden  of  power.  Chatham 
was  destined  never  to  return  to  office  ;  and,  though 
Grafton  continued  as  first  lord  of  the  treasury,  it 
was  Charles  Townshend  who  ruled  in  the  cabinet, 
and  dictated  the  ministerial  policy.  Thus  the  stone, 
which  the  builder  had  wanted  to  reject,  became,  in 
that  builder's  absence,  the  head  of  the  corner  ;  and,  in 
a  famous  passage  in  a  famous  speech,  Burke,  referring 


118     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

to  Chatham's  temporary  eclipse,  has  described  "  how 
even  before  this  splendid  orb  was  entirely  set,  and 
while  the  western  horizon  was  in  a  blaze  with  his 
descending  glory,  on  the  opposite  quarter  of  the 
heavens  arose  another  luminary,  and  for  his  hour 
became  lord  of  the  ascendant."  That  luminary  was 
Charles  Townshend  ;  and  England  has  deep  cause  to 
regret  that  ever  such  a  star  shone  in  the  political 
heavens.  Playing  politics  as  a  gambler  might  play 
a  game  of  cards  with  no  money  on  the  table,  "  unfixed 
in  principles  and  place,"  brilliant  in  debate,  and 
ready  to  say  anything  which  would  serve  his  turn 
at  the  moment,1  he  could  inspire  every  sentiment 
except  confidence,  and  be  everything  except  consistent. 
Nothing  could  possibly  be  a  severer  condemnation 
of  the  practical  application  of  Chatham's  much- 
vaunted  principle  of  "men,  not  measures ,:  than  the 
only  too  apparent  fact  that,  with  the  single  exception 
of  the  prime  minister,  there  was  not  a  member  of  the 
cabinet  capable  of  staying  Townshend  in  his  erratic 
and  perilous  course.  Grafton  might,  indeed,  bare  his 
breast  to  the  storm,  but  only  to  be  overthrown  and 
swept  away  like  a  piece  of  wreckage.  Conway,  quite 
apart  from  the  fact  that  on  certain  points  he  was  in 
agreement  with  his  turbulent  colleague,  was  far  too 
uncertain  of  his  own  opinions,  too  prone  to  waver  and 
hesitate,  to  withstand  an  antagonist  who  had  at  least 
the  merit  of  knowing  what  he  wanted  ;  and,  more- 
over, there  was  little  inducement  for  Conway  to  plunge 
into  such  a  fray,  as  he  had  already  determined  upon 
retirement  at  the  end  of  the  session.2  Lord  Shelburne, 
the   other    secretary   of    state,   was   indeed   made   of 

1  He  did  not  scruple  to  encourage  the  Rockingham  whigs  to  believe  that 
he  was  about  to  throw  in  his  lot  with  them.  Add.  MS.,  32980,  f.  296,  f.  333 ; 
Chatham  Correspondence,  3,  240. 

3  Add.  MS.,  32980,  f.  300  ;    Chatham  Correspondence,  3,  240. 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION     119 

sterner  stuff,  amply  furnished  with  convictions,  and 
the  least  likely  of  men  to  submit  to  the  will  of  another  ; 
but,  instead  of  battling  against  the  storm,  he  preferred 
to  discontinue  his  attendance  at  cabinet  meetings, 
confining  himself  to  the  duties  of  his  office.1  Thus, 
with  no  one  to  say  him  nay,  Townshend  was  able  to 
strike  for  independence,  and  reap  to  the  full  all  the 
advantages  which  might  be  gleaned  from  Chatham's 
illness. 

If,  at  such  a  moment,  the  ministry,  bereft  of  its 
leader,  and  shaken  to  its  foundations  by  one  too 
powerful  member,  had  been  called  upon  to  meet  the 
attack  of  a  united  opposition,  the  end  might  have 
been  quick  indeed  in  coming.  Nor  was  the  danger 
so  remote  as  has  sometimes  been  imagined.  No 
settlement  had  yet  been  reached  with  the  East  India 
Company,  and  it  was  not  improbable  that  a  common 
sympathy  for  that  threatened  corporation  might 
serve  as  a  bond  between  Rockingham,  Grenville,  and 
Bedford,  leading  them  to  form  a  permanent  alliance 
against  the  government.  There  is  no  doubt  that  all 
three  leaders  were  in  favour  of  a  parliamentary  union 
if  certain  difficulties  could  be  accommodated  ;  and  a 
negotiation  was  set  on  foot  about  the  end  of  March. 
But,  though  all  might  be  convinced  that  they  could 
never  succeed,  unless  they  organised  themselves  for 
the  battle,  it  was  by  no  means  easy  to  plan  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  spoils  which  would  follow  upon  the 
hoped-for  victory.  Rockingham  was  determined  that 
neither  Grenville  nor  any  of  his  followers  should  be 
given  the  treasury  ;  and,  although  at  first  there  seemed 
to  be  a  fair  prospect  of  success,  Grenville  showing 
himself   unexpectedly    conciliatory,    the    sky   quickly 

1  It  was  after  the  meeting  on  March  1 2th  that  Shelburne  ceased  to  attend 
the  cabinet.     Lord  Fitzmaurice's  Life  of  Shelburne,  ii.  s8. 


120    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

became  overcast.  In  George  Grenville's  heart  burned 
a  steady  flame  of  suspicion  of  the  men  who  had  re- 
versed his  American  policy ;  and,  imagining  that  they 
intended  to  use  him  as  a  tool  for  their  own  ends,  he 
raised  his  terms,  and,  after  asking  for  the  treasury 
for  Lord  Temple,  allowed  the  Bedfords  to  demand  it 
for  himself.  The  request,  objectionable  as  it  might 
be  to  those  to  whom  it  was  made,  was  emphatically 
not  unreasonable,  for  Grenville  had  better  claims 
than  Rockingham  to  the  first  place  in  the  government. 
A  more  varied  experience  of  political  life,  a  far  more 
extensive  knowledge  of  parliamentary  procedure,  a 
far  greater  readiness  in  debate,  and  an  equally  un- 
sullied reputation  for  honesty  and  integrity,  could 
all  be  pleaded  on  behalf  of  the  contention  that  he 
should  lead  and  Rockingham  should  follow.  Yet,  if 
he  was  right  to  ask,  the  young  whig  marquis  was 
equally  right  to  refuse,  and  to  break  off  the  negotia- 
tion when  he  understood  that  the  demand  would  not 
be  withdrawn.  It  was  no  personal  spite,  no  petty 
or  selfish  impulse,  that  led  him  to  abhor  the  prospect 
of  Grenville  at  the  treasury  ;  but  a  deep-rooted  and 
well-founded  conviction  that  the  statesman,  who  had 
introduced  the  stamp  act,  might,  if  given  a  favour- 
able opportunity,  revive  it.  When  Rockingham 
stipulated  that  his  own  party  must  have  a  majority 
in  any  cabinet  that  was  formed,  that  Grenville  must  be 
rigorously  excluded  from  all  dealings  with  the  colonies, 
and  that  the  policy  of  the  late  administration  towards 
the  trade  and  commerce  of  America  must  be  con- 
tinued, he  revealed  what  he  feared  from  an  alliance 
with  the  men  whose  work  he  had  undone.1     Between 

1  Add.  MS.,  32980,  f.  450.  For  the  negotiation  generally,  see  Add.  MS., 
32980,  f.  374,  f.  376,  f.  384,  f.  386,  f.  398,  f.  410,  f.  418,  f.  424,  f.  438,  f.  440, 
f.  450,  f.  454  ;  Add.  MS.,  32981,  f.  1,  f.  24  ;  Grenville  Papers,  4,  218-220. 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION    121 

him  and  Grenville  lay  a  clear  and  fundamental  diverg- 
ence of  opinion  on  a  question  still  unsettled  ;  and  it  is 
to  their  credit  that  they  refused  to  sacrifice  principles, 
which  they  believed  to  be  true,  to  a  policy  which  they 
knew  to  be  expedient. 

Yet,  though  the  negotiation  had  proved  abortive, 
the  different  parties  in  opposition  were  prepared  to 
work  together  against  the  government ;  for,  whatever 
their  differences  might  be,  it  was  to  the  interest  of  all 
to  overthrow  the  existing  ministry.  The  demand  of 
the  treasury  for  Grenville  had  been  declined  in  friendly 
and  polite  terms ;  x  and  no  little  pains  were  taken  to 
maintain  amicable  relations  between  those  who  had 
failed  to  arrive  at  a  common  understanding.  Gren- 
ville assured  Lord  Mansfield,  who  quickly  passed  the 
information  on  to  Newcastle,  that  he  intended  to 
refrain  from  proposing  any  measure,  in  regard  to  the 
American  colonies,  which  would  clash  with  Lord 
Rockingham's  views ; 2  and  although  Bedford  was 
reported  to  be  angry  at  the  negotiation  having  failed, 
and  to  have  said  that,  had  it  succeeded,  "  he  would 
have  done  nothing  upon  the  American  affairs  that 
could  be  disagreeable  to  us  ;  but  that  being  over,  he 
will  push  his  own  opinion  as  far  as  he  can  " ;  in  con- 
versation with  Newcastle  he  displayed  a  more  con- 
ciliatory spirit,  declaring  himself  in  favour  of  a  "  solid, 
cordial  agreement  and  union"  between  all  parties  in 
opposition.3  Newcastle,  himself,  was  strongly  of  the 
same  opinion.  "  We  have,"  he  wrote  in  April,  "  three 
parties  ;  one,  the  administration,  I  will  have  nothing 
to  do  with  ;  the  remaining  two  I  most  sincerely  wish 
united  for  the  sake  of  the  nation  and  the  whig  cause. 
I  am  not  clear  that  either  party  is  much  pleased  with 

1  Add.  MS.,  32981,  f.  1.  2  Add.  MS.,  32981,  f.  28. 

3  Add.  MS.,  32981,  f.  65,  f.  156. 


122    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

me  for  my  way  of  thinking  .  .  .  which  is  to  try  to  have 
it  in  my  own  way,  and  that  of  my  friends,  if  I  can  ;  but 
if  not,  if  the  union  is  necessary,  as  I  think  it  is,  I  wish 
it  made  any  way  almost  rather  than  no  way."  *  A 
few  weeks  later,  he  repeated  the  same  sentiments, 
affirming  his  belief  in  a  "  coalition  and  union  which 
I  think  can  alone  save  this  country  "  ; 2  and  even 
Rockingham,  who  appeared  to  be  so  hostile  to  Gren- 
ville's  influence,3  began  to  think  more  kindly  of  a 
possible  combination  of  forces.4  Newcastle,  indeed, 
in  his  anxiety  for  union,  went  further  than  Rocking- 
ham and  a  good  many  other  members  of  the  party  ; 
but  there  were  some  who  agreed  with  him,  and  amongst 
them  was  Sir  William  Meredith.  "  He  differs,"  wrote 
Newcastle  to  the  Duke  of  Portland,  "  more  with  our 
friend,  the  marquess,  about  union  and  coalition,  than 
your  grace  and  I  do.  He  thinks  it  so  necessary,  that 
he  intends  (as  he  says)  to  sit  by  George  Grenville  in 
the  house  of  commons,  to  use  himself  to  it,"  5 — a 
self-denying  ordinance  which  was  a  doubtful  com- 
pliment to  Grenville. 

Thus,  though  no  formal  alliance  had  been  con- 
cluded, the  parties  in  opposition  were  inclined  to  sink 
their  differences  for  the  time  being,  and  to  unite  against 
the  ministry  ;  and  the  parliamentary  conflict  might 
well  prove  arduous  and  exhausting  for  a  government 
rent  by  internal  dissensions  and  deprived  of  its  leader. 
The  inquiry  into  the  affairs  of  the  East  India  Company, 

1  Add.  MS.,  32981,  f.  254.  3  Add.  MS.,  32982,  f.  148. 

3  •'  I  know  no  news,"  wrote  Newcastle  to  Lord  Grantham  on  April  17th, 
"  and  am  not  very  curious  about  any.  My  Lord  Rockingham  made  me  a 
visit,  ...  I  showed  him  my  account  of  what  passed  with  the  Duke  of  Bedford. 
He  said  not  a  word  upon  it  ;  neither  seemed  pleased  nor  displeased  :  but 
stopped  at  every  place  where  George  Grenville  was  named,  against  whom 
and  my  Lord  Temple  .  .  .  he  seems  more  picqued  than  ever."  Add.  MS., 
32981,  f.  197. 

4  Add.  MS.,  32982,  f.  148.  5  Add.  MS.,  32982,  f.  146. 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION    123 

and  the  condition  of  the  American  colonies,  offered 
many  easy  points  of  attack  ;  and  the  members  of  the 
cabinet  could  not  but  regard  the  future  with  some 
degree  of  trepidation.  But  to  stand  still  was  im- 
possible, and  the  papers  of  the  East  India  Company 
were  discussed  and  examined  by  the  house  of 
commons.  After  a  lengthy  and  tedious  inquiry,  there 
occurred,  on  April  14th,  the  first  important  struggle 
between  the  government  and  the  opposition,  since 
Chatham's  return  from  Bath.  The  battle  was  opened 
by  Sir  William  Meredith  who  moved  that  an  end  be 
put  to  the  committee  on  the  affairs  of  the  company. 
If  he  carried  his  motion,  the  ministry  would,  indeed, 
suffer  a  crushing  and  humiliating  defeat.  It  would 
be  compelled,  at  the  dictation  of  its  enemies,  to  aban- 
don a  task  over  which  it  had  expended  much  time  and 
trouble,  and  which  Chatham  had  placed  in  the  very 
forefront  of  his  programme.  The  laborious  examina- 
tion of  the  company's  papers  had  been  undertaken 
in  order  to  furnish  Beckford,  who  was  recognised  as 
Chatham's  mouthpiece  in  this  question,  with  informa- 
tion upon  which  to  found  the  resolutions  he  was 
prepared  to  submit  to  the  house  ;  and,  if  Meredith 
triumphed,  this  intention  would  be  frustrated,  and 
the  company  secured  from  all  further  molestation. 
No  more  direct  challenge  to  the  administration  could 
possibly  have  been  contrived,  and  it  had  all  the  de- 
fects of  a  frontal  attack.  The  ministers  strained 
every  nerve  to  avert  defeat  on  so  final  an  issue,  and 
it  was  hard  for  impartial  men  to  believe  that  the  ex- 
amination had  revealed  nothing  to  justify  further 
proceedings ;  and  yet,  unreasonable  as  Meredith's 
proposal  essentially  was,  it  was  not  until  after  a  lengthy 
discussion,  continuing  until  the  early  hours  of  the 
following  morning,  that  a  ministerial  motion,  adjourn- 


124     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

ing  the  debate  until  May  ist,  was  carried  by  a  majority 
of  fifty-six.1 

But,  though  the  opposition  had  been  defeated, 
there  was  no  reason  why  despair  should  prevail  in 
its  ranks.  The  minority  had  numbered  one  hundred 
and  fifty-seven,  no  inconsiderable  number  on  what 
was  described  as  so  "  unfavourable  a  proposition";2 
and  there  was,  therefore,  a  hope  that,  if  more  favourable 
ground  was  selected  for  the  next  conflict,  a  victory 
might  even  be  won.  Moreover,  there  was  another, 
and  indeed  a  weightier,  reason  for  the  enemies  of  the 
government,  to  persevere  in  the  attack  :  while  they 
had  stood  united,  the  ministerialists  had  clearly 
revealed  their  internal  differences.  Voicing  the 
avowed  sentiments  of  the  absent  leader,  Beckford 
had  announced  that  his  resolutions  would  deal  with 
the  legal  right  of  the  company  to  the  territories  it 
had  acquired,  while  Townshend  and  Conway  had 
maintained  their  old  contention  that  the  question  of 
the  right  should  be  waived,  and  a  speedy  and  amic- 
able settlement  be  made.3  The  moment  was  indeed 
critical.  If  Beckford  moved  his  resolutions,  he  would 
encounter  the  hostility,  not  only  of  the  opposition,  but 
also  of  two  leading  members  of  the  administration  ; 
and  it  might  well  be  that  he  would  incur  defeat,  and, 
perchance,  inflict  a  mortal  wound  upon  the. ministry. 
Grafton  believed  in  the  policy  which  Chatham  and 

1  Hist.  MSS.  Comm.  Stopford  Sackville  MSS.,  i,  122;  Walpole's  Memoirs, 
iii.  1  ft. 

2  Grenville  Papers,  4,  10. 

3  Hist.  MSS.  Comm.  Stopford  Sackville  MSS.,  1,  122  ;  Weston  Underwood 
MSS.,  May  2nd,  1767  ;  Walpole's  Memoirs,  iii.  1  ff.  It  is  nowhere  actually 
stated  that  Conway  and  Townshend  said  what  is  attributed  to  them  in  the 
text ;  but  Walpole  records  that  they  took  part  in  the  discussion,  and  Lord 
George  Sackville  states  that  "  in  the  course  of  the  debate,  the  ministry  thought 
proper  to  disclaim  all  violence  and  hostility  against  the  company,  and  seemed 
to  decline  the  question  of  right." 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION    125 

Beckford  favoured  ;  but,  if  he  was  true  to  this  con- 
viction, he  ran  the  risk  of  destroying  the  administration 
which,  he  was  sincerely  convinced,  it  was  his  duty 
to  uphold  until  Chatham's  return.  It  was  no  easy 
decision  which  he  was  called  upon  to  make,  for  both 
surrender  and  defiance  could  be  supported  by  argu- 
ments based  upon  principles  ;  and  no  blame  attaches 
to  his  final  resolution  to  surrender  to  his  colleagues,  in 
order  to  avert  a  disruption  in  the  cabinet,  and  to 
deprive  the  opposition  of  a  formidable  weapon  against 
the  government.  He  may  have  erred,  but  it  was 
from  no  unworthy  motive,  and  the  heavier  guilt  lies 
upon  the  shoulders  of  his  rebellious  subordinates. 
But  it  was  they  who  enjoyed  the  triumph  of  the  hour. 
When,  on  May  ist,  the  house  of  commons  met,  expect- 
ing to  hear  Beckford  move  his  resolutions,  Boulton, 
one  of  the  directors  of  the  company,  announced  that 
fresh  proposals  had  been  made  by  his  company  to  the 
government,  which  seemed  likely  to  result  in  a  final 
settlement ;  and  he  therefore  asked  the  house  to 
delay  the  discussion  of  East  Indian  affairs  for  another 
week,  in  the  hope  that  by  that  time  terms  might  have 
been  arranged,  which  could  be  submitted  for  its  ap- 
proval. The  motion,  supported  as  it  was  by  Town- 
shend  and  Conway,  was  carried ;  and  consequently 
the  opposition  was  deprived  of  the  privilege  of  falling 
tooth  and  nail  upon  Beckford's  resolutions.1 

The  terms  offered  to  the  government  were  not  such 
as  Chatham  would  have  approved,  deviating  as  they 
did  from  that  "  right  forward  road  "  which  he  had 
always  wished  to  tread.2  In  return  for  certain  com- 
mercial concessions,  the  company  undertook  to  make 

1  Hist.  MSS.  Comm.  Weston  Underwood  MSS.(  405  ;  Walpole's  Memoirs, 

11-13- 

2  Grafton's  Autobiography,  p.  125. 


126     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

an  annual  payment  of  £400,000  to  the  state  for  a  term 
of  two  years.  No  mention  was  made  of  the  vexed 
question  of  the  territorial  rights  of  the  company, 
which  was  still  left  as  open  as  it  had  been  when 
Chatham  first  put  his  hand  to  the  plough  ;  and  the 
most  favourable  of  its  critics  could  hardly  have  re- 
garded the  agreement  as  a  permanent  settlement  of 
a  difficult  problem.  In  character  not  unlike  a 
huckster's  bargain,  nothing  could  have  less  resembled 
the  policy  which  Chatham  had  outlined  when  he  took 
office  ;  and,  if  Grafton  had  saved  the  ministry,  he  had 
equally  betrayed  the  opinions  of  his  leader.  Moreover, 
he  was  to  discover  that  what  he  had  striven  to  avert 
was  yet  to  come  to  pass.  As  though  pursued  by  a 
malign  destiny,  he  was  to  be  robbed  of  much  of  the 
benefit  he  had  anticipated  from  his  surrender,  by  an 
unforseen  incident  which  was  to  delay  a  final  settle- 
ment for  many  weeks,  and  once  more  plunge  the 
ministry  into  internecine  strife.  When  it  became 
known  that  the  company  had  undertaken  to  make 
an  annual  grant  to  the  state  of  so  substantial  a  sum 
as  £400,000,  the  proprietors  of  stock  began  to  fear  a 
sensible  reduction  in  the  dividends,  and  displayed  all 
the  customary  greed  of  shareholders.  Thinking  of 
nothing  but  their  own  pockets,  and  of  no  one  but 
themselves,  the  general  court  of  the  company,  at  a 
meeting  on  May  6th,  voted  a  dividend  of  12J  per  cent, 
for  the  ensuing  half  year,  and,  in  so  doing,  bade  open 
defiance  to  the  directors  and  the  state.1 

The  bearing  of  such  an  incident  upon  the  course 
of  the  negotiation  can  be  easily  appreciated.  It  was 
as  clear  as  noonday  that  if  the  company  continued 
to  enjoy  the  right  of  voting  what  dividends  it  pleased, 
the  annual  payment  to  the  state  would  be  seriously 

1  Walpole's  Memoirs,  3,  16. 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION     127 

imperilled.  The  proprietors  of  stock  would  be  driven 
by  every  impulse  of  self-interest  to  secure  themselves 
against  financial  loss,  and  only  a  small  minority  could 
be  expected  to  be  tenacious  of  the  honour  of  the  cor- 
poration. What  they  had  already  done,  they  might 
well  repeat  in  the  future  ;  and,  therefore,  every  con- 
sideration of  wisdom  and  foresight  dictated  that, 
before  any  final  settlement  was  arrived  at  with  the 
company,  its  power  of  voting  dividends  should  be 
restricted  within  reasonable  limits.  The  actions  of 
politicians  are  seldom  guided,  however,  by  the  light 
of  pure  reason,  and  when,  on  May  8th,  Jeremiah  Dyson 
asked  leave  to  introduce  a  bill,  providing  that  the 
dividends  of  the  company  were  not  to  exceed  ten  per 
cent,  until  the  next  session  of  parliament,  that  veteran 
placeman  discovered  that  he  had  started  a  hare  which 
many  were  eager  to  hunt  ;  and,  though  the  bill  was 
ultimately  carried  in  both  houses,  its  passage  was  not 
unattended  with  difficulty.  In  the  house  of  commons 
both  Conway  and  Townshend  frankly  avowed  their 
dislike  of  a  measure  which  they  regarded  as  tyran- 
nical ;  x  and  in  the  house  of  lords  the  leaders  of  the 
opposition,  deprived  by  the  action  of  the  government 
of  bigger  game,  took  their  revenge  by  attacking  the 
dividend  bill.2  Yet,  supported  by  the  king,  Grafton 
prevailed  ;  and,  after  the  bill  had  been  passed,  the 
terms  agreed  upon  between  the  ministry  and  the 
company  were  embodied  in  an  act  which  received  the 
sanction  of  parliament. 

Thus  a  lengthy  and  troublesome  business  was 
brought  to  a  temporary  conclusion ;  but  the  ministry 
had  little   cause  for  triumph  in   the   very  moderate 

1  Grenville  Papers,  4,  224;  Hist.  Comm.  MSS.  Weston  Underwood  MSS., 
405;  Stopford  Sackville  MSS.,  1,  123;  Grafton's  Autobiography,  p.  125; 
Walpole's  Memoirs,  3,  36. 

2  Ibid.,  and  Add.  MS.,  32982,  f.  148,  f.  192,  f.  194- 


128     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

success  which  it  had  achieved.  Divided  and  dis- 
cordant counsels,  the  absence  of  the  prime  minister, 
and  the  recklessness  of  certain  members  of  the  cabinet, 
had  marred  the  execution  of  a  great  work  ;  and,  if 
Grafton  and  his  colleagues  had  done  nothing  more 
during  the  session,  they  would  still  have  borne  ample 
testimony  to  their  incapacity  to  rule.  Unfortunately, 
however,  for  the  ill-fated  first  lord  of  the  treasury, 
he  was  called  upon  to  deal  with  the  American  colonists 
who  were  showing  a  fixed  determination  to  resist 
what  they  regarded  as  the  aggressions  and  encroach- 
ments of  the  mother  country.  The  assembly  of  New 
York  refused  to  enforce  the  mutiny  act,  on  the  ground 
that  that  measure,  by  compelling  the  provincial 
assemblies  to  arrange  for  providing  the  troops  with 
quarters  and  a  few  of  the  common  necessities  of  life, 
was  in  reality  a  tax  in  kind  if  not  in  money,  and  New 
York  did  not  stand  alone  in  rebellion  ;  for  the  assembly 
of  Massachusetts  took  upon  itself  to  grant  an  indemnity 
for  all  offences  committed  during  the  popular  agitation 
against  the  stamp  act,  and  in  so  doing  certainly  passed 
beyond  the  limits  of  its  legal  authority. 

Such  were  the  facts  as  they  lay  before  the  ministers, 
and  seldom  has  any  government  been  confronted 
with  a  more  delicate  and  responsible  task.  If  a 
policy  of  inaction  was  pursued,  if  nothing  was  done, 
and  open  defiance  met  by  passive  acquiescence  in  the 
seemingly  inevitable,  the  colonists  would  be  led  to 
believe  that  they  could  ask  for  nothing  which  would 
be  refused.  The  repeal  of  the  mutiny  act  would  follow 
the  repeal  of  the  stamp  act,  and  be  followed  by  the 
repeal  of  the  navigation  laws,  against  which  complaints 
had  already  been  raised :  each  concession  would 
form  a  precedent  for  the  next,  and  America  acquire 
her  independence  at  the  hands  of  a  government  which 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION      129 

was  neither  firm  nor  conciliatory,  but  only  weak. 
It  is  possible  to  contend,  at  this  distance  of  time,  that 
such  a  solution  of  the  difficulty  would  have  been  by 
far  the  wisest  and  happiest  ;  but  it  was  certainly  not 
a  course  which  recommended  itself  to  any  statesman 
of  the  period  ;  and  nothing  is  more  unfair  than  to  judge 
the  men  of  the  past  by  the  ideas  of  the  present. 
Whatever  may  be  said  of  morality,  political  wisdom 
is  certainly  ambulatory.  Yet,  if  a  stand  was  made 
against  rebellion,  and  a  clear  intimation  given  that 
the  repeal  of  the  stamp  act  was  to  be  the  exception 
and  not  the  rule  of  English  policy,  no  little  care 
would  have  to  be  taken  to  keep  within  the  limits  of 
absolutely  necessary  coercion.  If  an  unduly  peremp- 
tory attitude  was  adopted  by  the  English  ministers, 
the  colonists,  already  dangerously  alienated  in  sym- 
pathy from  the  mother  country,  might  easily  be 
precipitated  into  rebellion.  The  cry  would  be  raised 
that  England  denied  to  her  sons  across  the  seas  that 
liberty  which  she  had  acquired  for  herself  at  home; 
that  American  freedom  would  soon  be  but  a  glorious 
memory  of  a  bygone  age  ;  and  that  the  generations 
to  come  would  never  forgive  the  men  who,  from  a 
craven  love  of  peace  and  quiet,  had  allowed  the  fetters 
of  tyranny  to  be  riveted  upon  themselves  and  their 
children.  Unfair  as  such  an  outcry  might  be,  it  would 
be  none  the  less  potent ;  for  men,  and  above  all  the 
champions  of  freedom,  are  often  swayed  by  windy 
sentiment  and  bombastic  declamations  ;  and  it  behoves 
wise  statesmen  to  consider  how  their  policy  will  appear 
to  imaginations  aglow  with  excitement  and  rhetoric. 

Thus,  both  coercion  and  conciliation  presented 
dangers,  and  the  wisest,  though  not  the  easiest,  course 
to  pursue  was,  probably,  a  judicious  mixture  of  both. 
Such,  indeed,  was  the  method  adopted  by  the  cabinet 


130     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

when  it  met  on  Thursday,  March  12th.     It  was  decided 
to    introduce    a    bill    prohibiting   the    governor,    the 
council,  and  the  assembly  of  New  York  from  passing 
any  bill  until  the  mutiny  act  had  been  complied  with ; 
and  all  the  ministers  present,  with  the  single  exception 
of  Conway,  approved   of   this   proposal.     Grafton,  in 
after  years,  described  it  as  a  "  temperate,  but  dignified 
proceeding,    and    purposely    avoiding    all    harsh    and 
positive  penalties  "  ;  x    and  Shelburne,  the  friend  of 
America,  has  left  it  on  record  how  at  this  time  he 
believed  that  "  some  measures   .   .    .   ought  to  be  taken 
of  so  bold  and  decisive  a  nature,  as  to  convince  the 
Americans  that   the   long  patience   of   Great   Britain 
has  been  by  no  means  owing  to  timidity,  and  yet  the 
ends  of  those  measures  should  be  so  manifestly  just 
and  important,  as  to  leave  no  room  for  jealousies  and 
fears  in  the  minds  of  the  sober  and  well-disposed,  and 
thereby   give   no   pretence   for   common   measures   of 
resistance,  and  it  would  be  still  more  desirable  if  these 
measures  could  be  directed  against  a  particular  pro- 
vince." 2      Camden,    the    lord    chancellor,    who    had 
formerly   denounced   the  stamp   act   not  only  as   in- 
expedient but  as  actually  illegal,  was  now  in  favour 
of  a  stand  being  made  against  the  colonists'  demands, 
hinting,  in  a  speech   in   the  house  of  lords,  that   his 
opinions  might  not  be  as  lenient  as  they  previously 
had  been  ; 3  and  though  Chatham  was  not  present  at 
this  meeting  of  the  cabinet,   it  is  probable  that  he 
quite  approved  the  decision  of  his  colleagues.     On  first 
learning  of  the  resistance  offered  by  the  New  York 
assembly,     he     roundly     denounced     such     conduct. 
"  America,"   he  wrote,   "  affords   a  gloomy  prospect. 
A  spirit  of  infatuation  has  taken  possession  of  New 

1  Grafton's  Autobiography,  p.  126.  8  Shelburne' s  Life,  2,  50-55. 

3  Walpole's  Memoirs,  2,  318. 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION    131 

York  :  their  disobedience  to  the  mutiny  act  will 
justly  create  a  great  ferment  here,  open  a  fair  field 
to  the  arraigners  of  America,  and  leave  no  room  to 
any  to  say  a  word  in  their  defence."  Nor  was  he  any 
more  sympathetic  towards  the  New  York  merchants 
who  had  petitioned  to  be  relieved  from  certain  re- 
strictions upon  their  trade,  describing  the  request  as 
"  highly  improper :  in  point  of  time  most  absurd ; 
in  the  extent  of  their  pretensions  most  excessive ; 
and  in  the  reasoning,  most  grossly  fallacious  and 
offensive "  ;  and,  when  informed  of  the  indemnity 
granted  by  the  Massachusetts  assembly,  he  oracularly 
remarked  :  "  New  York  has  drunk  the  deepest  of 
the  baneful  cup  of  infatuation,  but  none  seem  to  be 
quite  sober,  and  in  full  possession  of  reason."  x  These 
were  trenchant  utterances  in  the  mouth  of  one  who  had 
openly  proclaimed  his  joy  at  the  resistance  offered 
by  the  Americans  to  the  stamp  act  ;  and  it  is  clear 
that,  whatever  Chatham  had  thought  in  the  past,  he 
now  believed  that  the  time  for  concession  was  past. 
This  change  in  his  opinions,  if  change  it  can  be  called, 
was  not  long  in  becoming  known.  Early  in  April, 
Newcastle  informed  Rockingham  that  the  prime 
minister  favoured  the  adoption  of  strong  measures 
against  the  colonies  ;  and  the  Duke  of  Bedford  was 
apparently  convinced  that,  in  pressing  for  the  punish- 
ment of  those  who  had  dared  to  resist  the  authority 
of  parliament,  he  could  count  upon  the  sympathy  of 
Chatham.2 

Thus,  with  the  exception  of  Conway,  the  ministers, 
from  the  leader  downwards,  were  in  favour  of  check- 
ing the  growing  spirit  of  turbulence  in  the  plantations  ; 
and  it  is  hard  to  accuse  them  of  wrongdoing.     While 

1  Chatham  Correspondence,  3,  188,  190,  193-4. 

2  Add.  MS.,  32981,  f.  34,  f.  65. 


132     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

the  Americans  were  justified  in  throwing  off  a  yoke 
which  crippled  and  fettered  their  development,  the 
English  ministers  would  have  been  more  than  human, 
and  something  very  different  from  what  they  actually 
were,  if  they  had  been  willing  to  accept,  without  a 
struggle,  the  lesson  which  it  was  destined  that  they 
should  receive  at  the  hands  of  the  colonists.  Every 
step  along  the  road  of  liberty  is  an  innovation  upon 
what  already  exists  ;  and,  at  this  critical  juncture, 
Grafton  and  his  colleagues,  trained  in  the  old  school 
of  colonial  policy,  conceived  it  to  be  their  duty  to 
maintain  the  traditional  relations  between  England 
and  the  American  plantations.  The  interpretation 
which  condemned  the  mutiny  act  as  a  violation  of 
the  principle  of  no  taxation  without  representation, 
was  capable  of  very  indefinite  extension  ;  and,  if  the 
action  of  the  New  York  assembly  was  condoned,  fresh 
and  more  exacting  demands  might  be  anticipated  upon 
the  patience  of  the  mother  country.  Nor,  with  any 
show  of  reason,  can  the  measure  adopted  by  the 
ministry  be  viewed  as  unduly  tyrannical  or  oppressive. 
A  provincial  legislature  had  defied  the  supremacy  of 
the  English  parliament,  and  the  offence  called  for 
punishment.  The  penalty,  touching  as  it  did  the 
legislative  powers  of  the  rebellious  assembly,  and 
leaving  untouched  the  life  and  property  of  those 
who  had  not  participated  in  the  crime,  was  confined 
in  its  operation  to  the  actual  offenders  ;  and,  though 
Conway  might  plead  for  conciliation,  proof  is  lacking 
that  such  a  policy  would  have  earned  any  greatermeasure 
of  success.  Indeed,  it  might  be  argued,  as  it  actually 
was  by  Shelburne,  that  "  if  Great  Britain  does  not 
in  some  shape  put  forth  her  dignity  on  this  occasion, 
she  may  end  by  losing  all  credit  and  reverence  in 
America,   and  lose  likewise   her  power  there,   which 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION    133 

is,   and    must   be,   in   a   great  measure,    founded    on 
opinion."  x 

Yet,  however  reasonable  the  ministerial  proposal 
might  be,  parliamentary  criticism  must  be  expected ; 
for  an  opposition,  which  had  harried  the  government 
upon  the  affairs  of  the  East  India  company,  would  not 
be  likely  to  remain  quiescent  when  the  colonies  were 
under  discussion.  But  the  danger,  which  confronted 
the  enemies  of  the  administration,  was  that  they  might 
fail  to  agree  upon  a  programme  of  attack  ;  for  between 
Rockingham  and  Grenville  lay  a  difference  of  opinion 
on  colonial  policy,  which  could  not  be  easily  bridged. 
But  a  yawning  chasm,  which  cannot  be  crossed,  can 
sometimes  be  avoided  ;  and  Grenville  and  Bedford, 
aware  of  the  necessity  of  standing  united  against  the 
government,  had  already  assured  the  followers  of  Lord 
Rockingham  that  they  would  refrain  from  making  pro- 
posals likely  to  offend  the  men  who  had  repealed  the 
stamp  act.2  For  a  little  time  Rockingham  declined 
to  show  his  hand,  leaving  his  supporters,  as  Newcastle 
somewhat  bitterly  remarked,  to  shift  for  themselves  ;  3 
and  the  evil  consequences  of  such  untimely  reticence 
were  not  long  in  making  themselves  felt.  On  April 
ioth,  the  Duke  of  Bedford  moved  in  the  house  of 
lords  that  the  king  should  be  addressed  to  instruct 
the  privy  council  to  consider  the  legality  of  the  in- 
demnity granted  by  the  assembly  of  Massachusetts  ; 
and,  although  all  his  hearers  were  agreed  in  thinking 
the  indemnity  illegal,  the  Duke  of  Grafton,  interpreting 
the  motion  as  a  vote  of  want  of  confidence  in  the 
government,  moved  the  previous  question,  and  carried 
it  by  a  substantial  majority  of  twenty-seven  votes. 
There  is  no  doubt  that   the  Rockingham  whigs  were 

1  Shelburne's  Life,  2,  55.  2  Add.  MS.,  32981,  f.  28,  f.  65. 

3  Add.  MS.,  32981,  f.  65. 


134     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

largely  responsible  for  the  ease  of  the  ministerial  victory. 
With  no  instructions  from  their  leader,  with  no  definite 
plan  of  campaign,  they  knew  not  what  to  do,  and  were 
as  sheep  without  a  shepherd.  Rockingham,  himself, 
supported  ,the  government ;  others,  including  Lord 
Grantham,  voted  with  the  Duke  of  Bedford;  and 
Newcastle,  Portland,  Albemarle,  and  Bessborough 
were  amongst  those  who  went  away,  before  the  division 
was  taken,  in  order  that  they  might  not  be  compelled 
to  oppose  their  friends.1 

Such  was  not  a  favourable  opening  for  the  opposi- 
tion campaign  which  demanded  union  as  an  essential 
condition  of  success ;  and  Grenville  and  Bedford, 
after  the  assurances  they  had  given,  were,  naturally 
enough,  somewhat  chagrined  at  the  conduct  of  the 
Rockingham  whigs.  Nor  was  Newcastle  any  less 
disappointed,  for  he  bitterly  regretted  the  loss  of  such 
a  golden  opportunity  of  placating  the  Duke  of  Bedford.2 
The  mischief,  however,  was  not  irreparable  ;  and,  four 
days  after  the  debate  in  the  house  of  lords,  Newcastle 
called  upon  the  Duke  of  Bedford  in  order  to  apologise 
for  the  conduct  of  his  friends.  His  excuse  was  that, 
as  Bedford  had  not  communicated  his  intentions, 
Rockingham  and  his  followers  were  taken  unawares, 
and  each  man  obliged  to  do  what  was  right  in  his 
own  eyes  ;  but,  in  reply,  Bedford  pointed  out  that,  if 
there  had  been  communication,  Conway,  who  was 
known  to  be  in  frequent  and  intimate  intercourse  with 
many  members  of  the  Rockingham  party,  might  have 
got  wind  of  what  was  intended,  and  revealed  the  plot 
to  his  colleagues  in  the  cabinet.  The  hit  was  palpable, 
but  Newcastle  was  far  too  experienced  a  negotiator 

1Add.  MS.,  32981,  f.  112,    f.  125  ;    Grenville  Papers,  4,  222;    Walpole's 
Memoirs,  2,  322,  323. 

2  Add.  MS.,  32981,  f.  127. 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION    135 

to  be  driven  away  by  the  first  rebuff.  "  I  insisted 
strongly,"  he  reported,  "  that  for  the  future  proper 
previous  communications  should  be  made  on  both 
sides  during  the  remainder  of  the  session,  in  which 
I  thought  His  Grace  entirely  agreed."  1 

Newcastle,  in  the  course  of  a  long  life,  had  often  been 
doomed  to  go  on  many  fruitless  errands,  but  on  this 
occasion,  at  least,  he  was  rewarded  by  success ;  for 
Bedford  was  as  good  as  his  word.  On  Sunday,  May 
3rd,  Lord  Gower,  happening  to  meet  Rockingham  at 
Arthur's,  informed  him  that,  on  the  following  Wednes- 
day in  the  house  of  lords,  the  ministers  would  be  asked 
to  explain  what  they  had  done  in  the  matter  of  the 
Massachusetts  assembly  ;  and  Rockingham  assured  him 
that  he  thought  "  it  very  fair  and  very  right."  The 
fruit  of  this  communication  was  seen  on  Wednesday, 
May  6th,  when  Lord  Gower  moved  for  an  account  of 
the  proceedings  of  the  privy  council  upon  the  action 
of  the  Massachusetts  assembly.  The  ministers  opposed 
the  motion,  alleging  that  the  business  would  not  be 
finished  until  the  end  of  the  week ;  but  though  they 
carried  the  day,  it  was  only  by  nine  votes.  The 
increase  in  the  numerical  strength  of  the  opposition 
arose  from  the  Rockingham  whigs  having  thrown  in 
their  lot  with  the  Bedfords  and  the  Grenvilles ;  and 
thus  Newcastle  could  congratulate  himself  upon  a 
timely  and  successful  visit  to  Bedford  House.2 


1  Add.  MS.,  32981,  f.  156. 

2  Add.  MS.,  32981,  f.  313;  Grenville  Papers,  4,  11.  Grenville  gives  the 
government  a  majority  of  ten.  It  is  nowhere  distinctly  stated  that  the 
Rockingham  whigs  voted  in  the  minority,  but  the  assumption  is  justified 
by  their  subsequent  conduct,  by  the  increase  in  the  numbers  of  the  opposition, 
and  by  the  approval  which  Rockingham  had  extended  to  Gower's  plan.  It 
would  be,  moreover,  a  mistake  to  imagine  that  Rockingham  was  inclined  to 
be  sympathetic  towards  the  action  of  the  Massachusetts  assembly.  In  a 
letter,  dated  May  1  ith,  1767,  and  addressed  to  a  collector  of  customs  at  Boston, 
he   mentions    his   dissatisfaction   "  with   the   behaviour  of  the  assembly  in 


136     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

The  united  attack  upon  the  government,  having 
once  begun,  was  not  relaxed  ;  and  it  was  in  the  upper 
house  that  the  surest  hopes  of  victory  for  the  opposi- 
tion lay.  Bedford  and  Newcastle  had  carefully 
scrutinised  the  different  parties  in  the  assembly  to 
which  they  belonged,  and  agreed  that  they  "  had  a 
majority,  or  very  near  it,  in  the  house  of  lords  against 
my  Lord  Bute  and  my  Lord  Chatham  "  ;  *  and  thus 
there  was  every  inducement  to  continue  the  struggle. 
Nor  were  they  to  be  stayed  by  any  concession  on  the 
part  of  the  ministers.  Though  the  privy  council 
had  annulled  the  indemnity,  and  though  a  record  of 
the  Council's  proceedings  was  to  be  submitted  to  the 
house,  this  was  not  enough  to  satisfy  an  opposition 
determined  upon  attack.  The  indemnity,  though 
annulled,  had  not  been  declared  null  and  void  ab 
initio,  and  this  omission  supplied  an  excuse  for  an 
onslaught  upon  the  ministry  on  May  22nd.  All  was 
carefully  arranged  beforehand  ; 2  and  the  contest,  when 
it  came,  was  exciting  enough,  a  motion  by  Lord  Gower 
being  only  defeated  by  six  votes.  Rockingham  and 
Newcastle  fought  side  by  side  with  Bedford  and 
Temple,  and  the  ministry  was  brought  within  an 
ace  of  defeat.  The  opposition  just  failed  to  attain 
success,  but  Newcastle  was  almost  as  much  delighted 
with  the  result  as  if  it  had  been  a  victory.  "  I  hope 
you  have  not  suffered,"  he  wrote  to  Lord  Rockingham 
on  the  following  day,  "  by  your  long  attendance  yester- 
day. The  good  appearance  we  made  has  done  me  so 
much  good  that  I  have  not  been  so  well,  or  slept  so 
well,  of  some  time  as  I  did  last  night.     If  all  of  us  take 

regard  to  tacking  of  their  indemnity  bill  to  the  compensation  bill.  The 
power  of  pardoning  crimes  of  the  nature  of  which  the  assembly  has  done,  is 
not  only  much  beyond  the  limits  of  their  constitution,  but,  in  fact,  would  be 
dangerous  for  themselves,"  Grenville  Papers,  4,  12. 

1  Add.  MS.,  32981,  f.  156.  2  Add.  MS.,  32982,  f.  32. 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION        137 

proper  care,  we  shall  beat  them  in  the  committee  on 
Tuesday,  if  the  court  don't  bring  down  greater  numbers 
than  they  did  yesterday."  x  Newcastle's  high  hopes, 
however,  were  to  be  disappointed ;  for,  in  the  debate 
on  the  following  Tuesday,  the  ministry  just  succeeded 
in  holding  its  own,  though  only  by  the  very  narrow 
majority  of  three  votes.2 

These  proceedings  in  the  upper  house  are  not 
unworthy  of  attention,  and  it  is  much  to  be  regretted 
that  our  information  concerning  them  is  so  scattered 
and  fragmentary.  We  know  enough,  however,  to  be 
certain  that  Bedford,  Rockingham,  and  Grenville  had 
agreed  to  sink  their  minor  differences,  and  to  act 
together  against  the  government ;  and,  in  so  doing, 
they  gave  an  useful  lesson  in  the  art  of  constitutional 
opposition.  Instead  of  intriguing  in  the  royal  closet, 
as  statesmen  in  the  previous  reign  had  so  often  done, 
they  sought  to  expel  the  ministers  by  depriving  them 
of  parliamentary  support,  and  thus  paid  indirect 
homage  to  the  sovereignty  of  the  people.  Moreover, 
there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  Rockingham  sacri- 
ficed a  single  principle  in  order  to  gain  the  assistance 
of  Bedford  or  Grenville ;  for  such  an  accusation  can 
only  be  supported  on  the  assumption  that  he  was  in 
favour  of  conciliating  the  colonists  at  all  costs,  and 
conceding  all  their  demands.  But  such  was  certainly 
not  the  case.  If  he  was  opposed  to  that  system  of  direct 
taxation  which  Grenville  had  introduced,  and  he  had 
abolished,  he  was  equally  opposed  to  compliance  with 
every  request  that  the  Americans  chose  to  make.  He 
has  left  on  record  his  views  on  the  situation  as  it 
existed  in  the  year,  1767  :    "a  system  of  arbitrary  rule 

1  Add.  MS.,   32982,  f.  95,  f.  99  ;    Grenville  Papers,  4,  224  ;    Walpole's 
Memoirs,  3,  34. 

2  Walpole's  Memoirs,  3,  34. 


138     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

over  the  colonies,"  he  wrote,  "  I  would  not  adopt 
on  this  side  ;  neither  would  I  do  otherwise  than  strenu- 
ously resist  when  attempts  were  made  to  throw  off 
that  dependency  to  which  the  colonies  ought  to  sub- 
mit, not  only  for  the  advantage  of  this  country,  but 
for  their  own  real  happiness  and  safety."  1  Thus 
thinking,  he  was  able  to  unite  with  Grenville  and 
Bedford  in  demanding  the  nullification  of  the  Mas- 
sachusetts act  of  indemnity,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
retain  a  man's  most  precious  possession,  his  moral 
integrity. 

The  united  opposition,  which  had  thus  come  into 
being  in  the  house  of  lords,  also  existed  in  the  house 
of  commons  which,  on  May  13th,  was  the  scene  of  a 
great  debate  upon  the  preliminaries  of  the  ministerial 
bill  suspending  the  legislative  powers  of  the  New 
York  assembly.  For  many  days  before,  it  was  known 
that  such  a  measure  was  in  contemplation,  and  Rock- 
ingham was  not  willing  to  allow  such  an  opportunity 
for  an  attack  upon  the  government  to  slip.  "  I 
understand  from  the  Duke  of  Richmond,"  he  wrote 
on  May  4th,  "  that  the  intention  of  administration 
to-morrow  in  the  house  of  commons  is  to  propose  a 
bill  to  direct  all  the  governors  in  North  America  not 
to  give  their  assent  to  any  bill  from  their  respective 
assemblies  until  the  assembly  has  made  provision  for 
the  due  compliance  in  the  quartering  bill.  Some 
time  ago,  his  grace  mentioned  this  when  Mr  Charles 
Yorke  was  here,  who  then  seemed  to  think  the  mode 
improper.  I  hope  to  see  him  to-day,  and  that  he  will 
continue  of  that  opinion.  I  mentioned  this  report 
at  that  time  to  Lord  Mansfield,  who  also  seemed  to 
disapprove  it.  I  hear  General  Conway  much  dislikes 
this,  but  this  is  a  secret.     If  so,  and  the  different  corps 

1  Greuville  Papers,  4,  13. 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION    139 

concur  in  thinking  the  mode  etc.,  improper,  to-morrow 
may  be  a  curious  day."  1 

It  is  clear  from  this  declaration  that  Rockingham 
was  anxious  for  his  party  to  attack  the  bill  when 
it  was  submitted  to  the  house  of  commons ;  and 
there  was  indeed  much  to  encourage  him  to  organise 
an  opposition.  The  hostility  of  Bedford  and  Gren- 
ville  to  a  measure,  which  in  their  eyes  would  not  go 
far  enough  along  the  road  of  coercion,  could  be  counted 
upon  ;  and  it  would  be  a  fatal  mistake  for  the  Rocking- 
ham whigs  not  to  lend  their  support  to  their  old 
comrade  Conway  when  he  was  in  conflict  with  the 
rest  of  his  colleagues.  Yet,  favourable  as  the  occasion 
might,  superficially,  appear,  Lord  Rockingham  and  his 
followers  found  themselves  in  a  somewhat  dangerous 
situation.  Grenville  and  Bedford  were  opposed  to 
the  bill  because  it  did  too  little,  and  Conway  because 
it  did  too  much  ;  and  the  Rockingham  whigs,  anxious 
to  maintain  their  union  with  Grenville  and  Bedford, 
and  most  reluctant  to  give  needless  offence  to  Conway, 
sought  for  a  comprehensive  plan  of  attack,  in  which 
all  opponents  of  the  government's  proposal  might  take 
part  without  scruple.  It  is  to  the  credit  of  their 
political  strategy  that  they  discovered  a  way  of  re- 
conciling the  seemingly  irreconcilable.  At  a  meeting 
at  Rockingham's  house  on  May  12th,  attended  by 
Dowdeswell,  Sir  George  Savile,  and  Sir  William  Mere- 
dith, it  was  decided  that  objection  should  be  taken 
to  the  bill  and  that  Dowdeswell  should  propose  that 
the  mutiny  act  be  amended  and  enforced.  The  in- 
genuity of  this  plan  cannot  but  evoke  admiration, 
for  to  Dowdeswell's  proposal  Conway,  and  all  sections 
of  the  opposition,  could  subscribe  in  equal  good  faith. 

1  Add.  MS.,  32981,  f.  287.     It  will  be  noticed  that  Rockingham  was  mis- 
taken in  believing  that  the  bill  was  to  be  introduced  on  May  5th. 


140     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

Those  who  believed  that  the  mutiny  act  should  be 
modified,  and  those  who  believed  that  it  should  be 
rendered  more  exacting,  could  all  agree  in  the  vague 
proposition  that  it  should  be  amended  and  enforced  ; 
comprehension,  indeed,  could  no  further  go.1 

The  debate  on  May  13th  was  opened  by  Charles 
Townshend  who  submitted  to  the  house  the  three 
resolutions  which  had  been  agreed  upon  by  the  cabinet 
two  months  before.  He  moved  that  the  province  of 
New  York  had  been  disobedient,  that  the  act  of  its 
assembly  was  void,  and  that  the  governor  of  that 
colony  should  not  give  his  assent  to  any  bill  until 
after  "  a  complete  and  entire  submission  to,  and  execu- 
tion of,  the  billeting  act  throughout  the  province." 
Debate  centred  round  the  last  of  these  three  resolu- 
tions. Grenville,  as  might  have  been  anticipated, 
declared  that  such  a  penalty  was  far  too  light,  arguing 
that  when  resistance  was  offered  to  the  authority  of 
parliament  there  should  be  no  question  of  mercy. 
He  taunted  the  ministers  with  fearing  to  use  against 
the  provincials  that  force  which  they  had  used  at 
home  to  prohibit  the  exportation  of  corn,  and  asserted 
that,  if  he  had  his  way,  not  a  single  person  in  America 
should  ever  be  allowed  to  hold  an  office  unless  prepared 
to  swear  to  the  superiority  of  Great  Britain.  Charles 
Yorke  and  Sir  George  Savile  argued  on  the  same 
lines,  declaring  that  no  punishment  could  be  too 
severe  for  rebellion  while  Conway,  separating  him- 
self from  the  other  ministers,  constituted  himself  the 
champion  of  America,  and  spoke  on  behalf  of  mercy 
and  forgiveness.  In  accordance  with  the  plan  pre- 
viously agreed  upon,  Dowdeswell  urged  that  the 
mutiny  act  should  be  amended  and  enforced,  and  this 
proposal   was   moved   as   an   amendment    by   George 

1  Add.  MS.,  32981,  f.  365. 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION    141 

Grenville.  On  a  division  being  taken  the  ministry 
was  victorious  by  eighty-two  votes  ;  but  in  the 
minority  were  to  be  found  Conway  and  the  adherents 
of  Bedford,  Grenville  and  Rockingham.  Thus  a 
question,  which  might  easily  have  plunged  the  opposi- 
tion into  internecine  strife,  was  diverted  by  skilful 
handling  into  a  bond  of  union,  and  this  diplomatic 
triumph  must  have  sensibly  mitigated  the  sting  of  the 
parliamentary  defeat.1 

Townshend's  resolutions  having  been  reported  to 
the  house  on  May  15th,  the  promised  bill  Was  intro- 
duced, and  became  law  before  the  end  of  the  session.2 
Of  the  debates,  which  it  occasioned  in  both  houses  of 
parliament,  we  know  next  to  nothing,  and  the  same 
obscurity  hangs  over  an  even  more  important  measure 
for  which  the  chancellor  of  the  exchequer  must  bear 
almost  all  the  responsibility.  As  has  been  mentioned 
before,  on  January  26th,  he  had  informed  an  eagerly 
listening  house  of  commons  that  he  regarded  the 
distinction  drawn  between  internal  and  external 
taxation  as  illusory  and  absurd,  and  that  he  knew 
of  a  way  of  taxing  America  without  giving  offence. 
In  response  to  pressure  from  Grenville  he  went  further, 
and  pledged  himself  to  provide  a  revenue  from  the 
colonies,  and,  unhappily  for  this  country,  he  fulfilled 
his  promise.  At  the  cabinet  meeting  on  March  12th 
he  informed  his  colleagues  that,  unless  he  was  allowed 
to  levy  taxes  upon  goods  imported  into  America,  he 
would  resign  his  office  ;  and  they  reluctantly  sub- 
mitted to  the  will  of  one  whom  they  were  powerless 
to  control.  Early  in  April,  he  told  the  house  of 
commons  that  "  he  had  formed  his  opinion  for  assert- 

1  Add.  MS.,  32981,  f.  375  ;  Grafton's  Autobiography,  p.  176;  Walpole's 
Memoirs,  3,  21  ff. 

u  Parliamentary  History,  vol.  xvi.  ;  Grafton's  Autobiography,  p.  179; 
Walpole's  Memoirs,  3,  29,  30. 


142     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

ing  the  superiority  of  the  crown,  and  endeavouring  to 
lay  a  foundation  for  such  taxation  as  might  in  time 
ease  this  country  of  a  considerable  burden  "  ;  x  and,  in 
the  course  of  the  debate  on  May  13th,  he,  for  the  first 
time,  gave  specific  details  of  his  plan.  He  announced 
that  "  he  was  clear  in  opinion  that  this  country  had  a 
power  of  taxation  of  every  sort,  and  in  every  case. 
That  he  could  never  distinguish  between  internal  and 
external,  but  that  such  taxation  should  be  moderate 
and  prudent  .  .  .  Would  mention  some  taxes,  not  as 
chancellor  of  the  exchequer,  but  as  a  private  man, 
for  the  future  opinion  of  this  house  in  a  committee 
of  ways  and  means  "  ;  and  he  then  proceeded  to  out- 
line a  scheme  for  the  levy  of  import  duties  upon  various 
articles,  and  for  the  establishment  in  America  of  a 
board  of  customs,  charged  with  the  collection  of  the 
revenue  arising  from  these  imposts.2  Unfortunately, 
we  know  nothing  of  the  debates  upon  these  proposals 
when  the  house  sat  in  a  committee  of  ways  and  means  ; 
the  degree  to  which  they  were  opposed,  or  by  whom. 
Alterations  were  indeed  made,  other  articles  being 
added  to  those  originally  named  by  Townshend  ;  but 
our  information  is  limited  to  the  resolutions  approved 
by  the  house  on  June  2nd.  On  that  day  it  was  re- 
solved that  duties  of  varying  amounts  should  be  laid 
upon  paper,  glass,  red  and  white  lead,  and  painters' 
colours  imported  into  the  colonies,  that  a  duty  of 
threepence  a  pound  should  be  imposed  upon  all  im- 
ported tea,  and  that  "  the  said  duties,  to  be  raised 
in  the  said  colonies  and  plantations,  be  applied  in  mak- 
ing a  more  certain  and  adequate  provision  for  the 
charge  of  the  administration  of   justice,  and  the  sup- 

1  Add.  MS.,  32936,  f.  321.     This  paper  is  wrongly  endorsed  April  3rd,  1762. 

2  Add.  MS.,  32981,  f.  375  ;    Grafton's  Autobiography,  p.   176;    Walpole's 
Memoirs,  3,  21  ff. 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION     143 

port  of  civil  government,  in  such  of  the  said  colonies 
and  plantations  where  it  shall  be  found  necessary ;  and 
that  the  residue  of  such  duties  be  paid  into  the  receipt 
of  his  majesty's  exchequer,  and  there  reserved,  to  be, 
from  time  to  time,  disposed  of  by  parliament,  towards 
defraying  the  necessary  expenses  of  defending,  protect- 
ing, and  securing,  the  said  colonies  and  plantations."  x 
Such  was  the  final  form  of  Townshend's  unhappy 
project,  and,  for  what  he  did,  he  has  stood  in  the  pillory 
for  nigh  upon  a  century  and  a  half.  Upon  him  has 
devolved  the  main  load  of  the  responsibility  for  the 
loss  of  the  American  colonies.  He  stands  accused 
of  having  rendered  more  critical  an  already  critical 
situation  ;  but  the  greatest  criminals  are  seldom  without 
some  defence,  and  the  chancellor  of  the  exchequer 
could  plead  a  certain  measure  of  justification  for  his 
action.  He  had  not  imposed  these  new  taxes,  as 
Grenville  had  imposed  the  stamp  act,  to  assert  a  right, 
but  to  meet  a  necessity.  It  was  undeniably  true  that 
the  American  revenue  was  insufficient  to  meet  the 
financial  requirements  of  colonial  government,  that 
the  new  taxes  were  far  from  oppressive,  and  that 
every  penny  which  they  produced  was  to  be  spent  upon 
the  country  on  which  they  were  imposed.  Though 
he  had  originally  intruded  his  scheme  without  notice, 
and  in  a  measure  forced  it  upon  his  colleagues,  they 
had,  at  least,  sanctioned  it,  and  their  acquiescence 
did  not  spring  entirely  from  fear.  "  The  right  of  the 
mother  country,"  wrote  Grafton  in  his  old  age,  "  to 
impose  taxes  on  the  colonies  was  then  so  generally 
admitted,  that  scarcely  anyone  thought  of  questioning 
it,  though,  a  few  years  afterwards,  it  was  given  up  as 
indefensible  by  everybody."  2     There  is  no  evidence 

1  Parliamentary  History,  xvi.  376. 

2  Grafton's  Autobiography,  p.  127. 


144     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

that  Lord  Rockingham  and  his  followers  attempted 
to  stay  Townshend  in  his  headlong  course,  and  most 
men  warmly  approved  a  plan  which  promised  to  relieve 
the  mother  country  of  what  might,  in  the  near  future, 
become  an  intolerable  burden.  Where  we  see  blind 
wilfulness  and  reckless  vanity,  contemporaries  detected 
enlightened  statesmanship ;  and  Edward  Sedgwick 
was  certainly  not  alone  in  applauding  the  chancellor 
of  the  exchequer  "  for  having  provided  for  the  expense 
of  the  whole  civil  administration  in  the  colonies,  and 
made  the  several  officers  concerned  in  it  independent 
of  the  people."  1 

Yet,  in  spite  of  all  that  can  be  urged  on  his  behalf, 
in  spite  of  the  approval  of  contemporaries,  it  remains 
true  that  Townshend  was  guilty  of  a  fatal  and  irre- 
trievable blunder.  He  forgot  that  government  is  an 
art  as  well  as  a  science.  It  was  clear  that  the  relations 
between  England  and  her  colonies  had  undergone  a 
change,  that  the  stamp  act  had  provoked  an  entirely 
new  attitude  in  America  towards  the  mother  country, 
and  that,  if  peace  was  to  be  maintained,  coercion  and 
conciliation  must  go  hand  in  hand.  The  suspension 
of  the  powers  of  the  New  York  assembly,  and  the 
nullification  of  the  Massachusetts  act  of  indemnity, 
however  justified  such  measures  of  repression  might 
be  by  necessity,  could  hardly  fail  to  fan  the  flames  of 
discontent  in  the  colonies ;  and  yet  this  was  the 
moment  selected  by  the  chancellor  of  the  exchequer 
for  reviving  the  question  of  taxation.  His  action  was 
essentially  untimely  and  also  unnecessary.  Better 
would  it  have  been  for  England  to  have  continued 
to  bear  more  than  her  fair  share  of  the  financial 
burden  of  colonial  government.  It  was  of  little 
account  that  the  new  taxes  were  import  duties,  for 

1  Hist.  MSS.  Comru.  Weston  Underwood  MSS.  406. 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION     145 

they  were  sufficiently  differentiated  from  such  imposts 
in  the  past  by  being  imposed  for  the  sake  of  revenue  ; 
and  Townshend  must  have  been  strangely  ignorant 
of  human  nature  if  he  believed  that  the  colonists  would 
be  reconciled  to  these  new  exactions  because  they 
could  be  described  on  paper  as  external  taxes.  Indeed, 
they  would  be  driven  to  further  aggressions ;  for,  if 
both  external  and  internal  taxes  could  be  made  to 
yield  a  revenue,  and  violate  the  principle  of  no  taxa- 
tion without  representation,  these  custom  dues  must 
follow  the  way  of  the  stamp  act.  If  the  English 
ministers  thought  to  chop  logic  with  the  Americans, 
they  would  discover  that  the  latter  were  not  in  a  mood 
to  abide  by  delicate  distinctions,  and  cared  too  much 
for  their  freedom  to  be  mindful  of  their  consistency. 

Thus  the  seed  of  conflict  and  dissension  was  sown, 
destined  to  produce  a  plentiful  crop  of  mischief  in  the 
future  ;  but,  for  the  time  being,  Grafton  thought  less 
of  the  gathering  storm  in  the  colonies,  and  more  of 
the  parliamentary  struggle  at  home,  which  threatened 
the  safety  of  his  administration.  By  the  end  of  May 
it  was  common  gossip  that  the  ministry  was  being 
hard  pressed,  especially  in  the  house  of  lords  where 
it  sometimes  only  carried  divisions  by  very  narrow 
majorities.  The  opposition  appeared  to  be  as  united 
on  colonial  policy  as  it  had  been  on  East  Indian  affairs  ; 
and,  while  harmony  prevailed  among  its  enemies,  the 
ministry  was  torn  asunder  by  strife  and  distrust. 
Shelburne,  who  had  ceased  to  attend  the  meetings 
of  the  cabinet,  was  not  unnaturally  regarded  with 
suspicion  by  his  colleagues  *  ;  and  both  Conway  and 
Townshend  had  not  scrupled  to  act  in  opposition  to 

1  The  king,  in  writing  to  Chatham  on  May  30th,  refers  to  "  the  great 
coldness  shown  those  three  ministers  (Grafton,  Camden,  and  Northington) , 
by  Lord  Shelburne,  whom  they,  as  well  as  myself,  imagine  to  be  rather  a 
secret  enemy."     Chatham  Correspondence,  3,  260-262. 

K 


146     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

the  rest  of  the  cabinet.     Though,  so  far,  the  ministry- 
had   escaped   actual   defeat,   its   prolonged   existence, 
threatened  as  it  was  by  dissensions  within  and  attacks 
without,   seemed   very   problematical  ;     and   Grafton, 
fearing  that  at  any  moment  he  and  his  colleagues  might 
be   engulfed   in   the  rising   storm,  turned   for   advice 
to    the   prime    minister  in   his   gloomy    seclusion    at 
Hampstead.     He  asked  for  permission  to  visit  him, 
but  the  request  was  promptly  refused,  Chatham  reply- 
ing that  "  nothing  can  be  so  great  an  affliction  to  him 
as  to  find  himself  quite  unable  for  a  conversation, 
which  he  should  otherwise  be  proud  and  happy  to 
embrace."  *     Grafton,    however,   was   convinced   that 
the  time  for  half  measures  was  over,  and,  accompanied 
by  Northington,  visited  the  king  on  May  28th,  to  warn 
him  of  what  might  happen  if  a  policy  of  drift  was 
pursued.     The  two  ministers  drew  a  sufficiently  lurid 
picture  of  the  actual  situation.     They  elaborated  the 
evil    circumstances    of    the   administration,    '  in    one 
house  acting,  from   the   beginning   of   the  session,  in 
direct  contradiction  to  all  cabinet  decisions  :    in  the 
other,  by  the  prevalence  of  faction,  brought  to  such  a 
crisis,  as  to  carry  questions  in  a  very  full  house,  by 
majorities  of  three  only,  and  even  those  made  up  by 
the  votes  of  two  of  the  king's  brothers,  and  some  lords 
brought  down  from  their  very  beds."  2     This  doleful 
tale,  enforced  by  a  threat  from  Grafton  that  he  would 
not    continue   in   office   unless   something   was   done, 
had   the   desired   effect,   and  the  king   undertook  to 
ask  Chatham  to  grant  the  first  lord  of  the  treasury 
an    interview.      The    royal    letter    was    in    the    true 
heroic  vein.     After  referring  to  the  narrow  ministerial 

1  Chatham     Correspondence,     3,     255-256;      Grafton's     Autobiography, 
pp.  132,  133. 

2  Grafton's  Autobiography,  p.  134. 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION    147 

majorities  in  the  upper  house,  and  the  discord  within 
the  cabinet,  the  king  struck  the  note  of  defiant  con- 
fidence :  "  My  firmness,"  he  declared,  "  is  not  dis- 
mayed by  these  unpleasant  appearances ;  for,  from 
the  hour  you  entered  into  office,  I  have  uniformly 
relied  on  your  firmness  to  act  in  defiance  to  that 
hydra  faction,  which  has  never  appeared  to  the  height 
it  now  does,  till  within  these  few  weeks.  Though  your 
relations,  the  Bedfords,  and  the  Rockinghams,  are 
joined  with  intention  to  storm  my  closet,  yet,  if  I 
was  mean  enough  to  submit,  they  own  they  would  not 
join  in  forming  an  administration  ;  therefore  nothing 
but  confusion  could  be  obtained.  I  am  strongly  of 
opinion  with  the  answer  you  sent  the  Duke  of  Grafton  ; 
but,  by  a  note  I  have  received  from  him,  I  fear  I  cannot 
keep  him  above  a  day,  unless  you  would  see  him  and 
give  him  encouragement.  ...  Be  firm,  and  you  will 
find  me  amply  ready  to  take  as  active  a  part  as  the 
hour  seems  to  require.  Though  none  of  my  ministers 
stand  by  me,  I  cannot  truckle."  1 

Such  an  appeal  was  enough  to  stir  all  the  old  warrior 
spirit  left  in  Chatham's  veins.  The  suggestion  that 
the  monarchy  was  on  the  point  of  being  enslaved 
by  the  whig  oligarchy  risen  from  its  ashes,  that  Grafton 
was  about  to  retire  and,  perhaps,  precipitate  a  dis- 
solution of  the  ministry,  and  that  once  more  faction 
would  resume  its  sway  over  the  destinies  of  the  country, 
induced  him  to  make  a  great  effort.  He  consented  to 
see  Grafton  who  visited  him  on  the  last  day  of  May.2 
It  was  the  first  time  that  Grafton  had  seen  his  leader 
since  his  retirement  to  Hampstead,  and  he  was  dis- 
mayed to  find  how  broken  and  prostrate  was  the  great 

1  Chatham    Correspondence,    3,    257-262  ;     Grafton's    Autobiography,    pp. 

134-5- 

2  Grafton's  Autobiography,  pp.  1 30-139- 


148     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

statesman  who  had  once  caused  Europe  to  tremble. 
Every  dictate  of  human  sympathy  inclined  the  duke 
to  refrain  from  entering  upon  the  discussion  of  business 
which  could  not  but  cause  additional  pain  and  grief 
to  one  already  in  the  depths  of  affliction  ;  but,  com- 
pelled to  speak  when  he  would  gladly  have  been  silent, 
he  sketched  the  events  of  the  last  three  months, 
and  earnestly  implored  Chatham  for  "  his  advice  as 
to  assisting  and  strengthening  the  system  he  had 
established,  by  some  adequate  accession,  without  which, 
they  were  confident,  it  could  not,  or  ought  not,  to 
proceed."  Yet,  explicit  as  such  a  declaration  was, 
Chatham  seemed  to  fail  to  understand  in  what  a 
parlous  way  were  the  affairs  of  the  state.  Aware 
that  his  ministry  still  enjoyed  the  favour  of  the  king, 
he  despised,  as  he  had  done  from  the  first,  the  danger 
that  might  arise  from  an  union  of  the  parties  in  opposi- 
tion ;  and  he  was  far  more  exercised  at  the  prospect 
of  Grafton's  resignation.  All  the  little  energy  that 
remained  to  him  he  used  in  dissuading  his  first  lord 
of  the  treasury  from  taking  such  a  fatal  step,  arguing 
that  if  he,  Northington,  and  Camden,  did  not  retain 
their  offices,  "  there  would  be  an  end  to  all  his  hopes 
of  being  ever  serviceable  again  as  a  public  man." 
To  such  a  plea,  coming  from  so  great  a  man  thus 
circumstanced,  the  most  selfish  and  stony-hearted 
of  politicians  could  not  have  listened  unmoved  ;  and 
Grafton,  the  ready  victim  of  a  generous  impulse, 
did  not  hearken  undisturbed  to  so  direct  and  personal 
an  appeal.  It  is  true  that  he  did  not  pledge  himself 
to  remain  in  office,  but  he  urged  that,  if  he  was  to 
continue  to  bear  the  irksome  burden  of  unwelcome 
power,  the  administration  must  be  strengthened. 
"  A  junction  with  the  Bedfords  or  the  Rockinghams," 
he  states  in  his  account  of  this  interview,  "  appeared 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION    149 

to  me  to  be  the  only  steps  that  could  now  be  effectual : 
to  which  his  lordship  assented,  though  he  inclined  to 
prefer  entering  into  negotiation  with  the  former." 

Thus  ended  a  meeting,  indescribably  painful  to 
both  parties  ;  and  Grafton  returned  to  London  with 
his  leader's  permission  to  enter  upon  a  negotiation 
with  the  Bedfords.  That  Chatham  should  have  given 
the  preference  to  that  faction  is  not  surprising,  as  the 
Rockingham  whigs  were  the  foremost  champions 
of  that  party  system  whose  destruction  he  had  vowed  ; 
and  though  the  king,  fearing  perhaps  that  the  Bedfords 
might  demand  the  treasury  for  Grenville,  from  whom 
he  had  suffered  too  much  in  the  past  to  wish  to  have 
him  again  as  his  first  minister,  favoured  overtures 
being  made  to  the  followers  of  Rockingham,1  Chatham's 
wish  was  religiously  observed,  and  Lord  Gower  was 
approached.2  At  the  outset  it  was  rendered  clear 
that,  though  the  Bedfords  were  to  be  admitted  into 
place,  Grenville  and  his  friends  were  not  to  be  included 
in  the  negotiation ;  and  Gower,  aware  that  the  aim 
of  the  ministers  was  to  divide  the  opposition,  refused 
to  discuss  such  a  restricted  offer.  For  the  time  being, 
nothing  more  was  done,  and  Grafton  continued,  until 
the  end  of  the  session,  without  the  assistance  which 
he,  himself,  had  declared  to  be  essential.  And,  as 
is  not  surprising,  the  outlook  grew  more  gloomy  as 
the  days  passed  by.  The  ministry,  indeed,  was  not 
so  hard  pressed  in  the  upper  house  as  formerly  3 ;  but 
the  danger  of  a  dissolution  of  the  cabinet  waxed 
perceptibly  greater.  Conway  had  for  some  long  time 
declared  that  he  would  resign  at  the  end  of  the  session, 
and  his  hour  was  almost  come  ;    Northington,  having 

1  Grafton's  Autobiography,  p.  139. 

2  Walpole's  Memoirs,  3,  41,  42. 

3  "  The  majority  in  both  houses  being  now  very  handsome."     The  king 
to  Lord  Chatham,  June  25th,  1767.     Chatham  Correspondence,  3,  275-6. 


150    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

undermined  his  health  by  a  lifelong  devotion  to  port, 
was  anxious  to  quit  his  employment  ;  Townshend 
declared  that  he  would  not  be  left  to  perish  in  the 
wreck  which  seemed  fast  to  be  approaching  ;  and 
Grafton,  having  abandoned  all  hope,  only  continued 
in  office  because  Chatham's  words  rang  in  his  ears.1 
Again  the  king  appealed  to  Hampstead  for  instructions 
how  to  meet  the  tempest  ;  and  all  that  the  prime 
minister  could  advise  was  that,  if  the  threatened 
resignations  took  effect,  men,  agreeable  to  Grafton, 
should  be  chosen  to  fill  the  vacant  places.  "  The 
very  little  my  state  of  nerves  enables  me  to  offer," 
he  wrote,  "  is,  that  if  the  Duke  of  Grafton  can  be 
prevailed  upon  to  remain  at  the  head  of  the  treasury, 
with  such  a  chancellor  of  the  exchequer  as  is  agreeable 
to  his  grace  success  to  your  majesty's  affairs  would 
not  be  doubtful  ;  this  being,  in  my  poor  opinion,  the 
vital  part,  and  indispensable."  2 

Such  was  the  political  situation  when  the  session 
was  brought  to  a  conclusion  on  July  2nd ;  and,  on  the 
same  day,  Grafton  presented  the  king  with  a  paper 
composed  by  Northington  and  himself.3  This  document 
stated  that  it  was  hopeless  to  fill  the  expected  vacancies 

1  Chatham  Correspondence,  3,  275-6. 

2  Ibid.,  3,  277-8. 

3  As  the  paper  in  question  is  not  over  lucid,  it  may  be  worth  while  to  re- 
produce it,  in  order  to  support  or  disprove  the  interpretation  placed  upon  it 
in  the  text.  "  The  President  and  the  Duke  of  Grafton,  after  the  most  serious 
consideration  and  explicit  conversation  in  the  closet,  having  fully  urged  the 
impracticability  for  them  to  form,  in  the  critical  circumstances  of  this  country, 
a  temporary  administration  from  any  collection  of  individuals  which  they 
should  think  fit  to  recommend  to  his  majesty,  it  becomes  now  essential 
for  his  majesty,  though  unwillingly,  to  ask  of  the  Earl  of  Chatham,  whether 
he  can  devise  any  plan,  by  which  the  immediate  execution  of  government  can 
be  carried  on  ;  for  they  cannot  with  honour  make  any  application  to  any 
divisions  of  men,  unapprized  of  his  lordship's  ideas  thereupon  ;  which,  with  the 
resignations  in  effect  made,  must  leave  this  country  without  any  government." 
Chatham  Correspondence,  3,  267.  This  paper  is  dated  June  2nd,  but  for  the 
reasons  to  believe  that  the  proper  date  should  be  July  2nd,  see  Grafton's 
Autobiography,  p.  150,  n. 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION    151 

in  the  cabinet  with  wanderers  in  the  highways  and 
hedges  of  political  life,  that  an  appeal  must  be  made 
to  one  of  the  parties  in  opposition,  and  that  Lord 
Chatham  should  be  asked  for  his  opinion  upon  such  a 
proceeding.  Thus,  urged  by  his  advisers,  the  king 
again  wrote  to  Chatham,  and  in  even  stronger  terms 
than  before.  "  I  earnestly  call  upon  you,"  he  wrote, 
"  to  lay  before  me  a  plan,  and  also  to  speak  to  those 
3'ou  shall  propose  for  responsible  offices.  You  owe 
this  to  me,  to  your  country,  and  also  to  those  who 
have  embarked  in  administration  with  you.  If  after 
this  you  again  decline  taking  an  active  part,  I  shall 
then  lie  under  a  necessity  of  taking  steps,  that  nothing 
but  the  situation  I  am  left  in  could  have  obliged  to." 
Fervent,  and  even  minatory,  as  such  an  appeal  was, 
it  failed  to  rouse  Chatham  from  his  despondency,  and 
once  more  he  implored  "  compassion  and  pardon  from 
his  majesty,  for  the  cruel  situation  which  still  deprives 
him  of  the  possibility  of  activity,  and  of  proving 
to  his  majesty  the  truth  of  an  unfeigned  zeal,  in  the 
present  moment  rendered  useless."  * 

Thus  Chatham,  in  the  clutch  of  a  fell  disease,  showed 
himself  a  broken  reed ;  and,  denied  his  counsel, 
the  king,  as  he,  himself,  had  said,  lay  "  under  a  neces- 
sity of  taking  steps,  that  nothing  but  the  situation  I 
am  left  in  could  have  obliged  to."  Throughout  a  long 
reign  George  III.  was  to  show  that,  whatever  his 
faults  might  be,  he  was  not  lacking  in  courage  ;  and 
never  was  he  more  courageous  than  at  this  moment. 
Chatham,  in  whom  he  had  placed  his  trust,  was  lost, 
for  a  time,  perhaps  for  ever,  to  political  life  ;  his 
ministers  threatened  to  desert  him  ;  and,  from  afar, 
he   could    hear   the   shouts   of   an    united   opposition 

1  Chatham  Correspondence,  3,  266  ff.     These  letters  are  also  antedated 
by  a  month. 


152     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

clamouring  to  be  admitted  into  place  and  power. 
Yet  he  never  blenched,  never  thought  of  surrender. 
To  give  up  his  servants,  because  they  had  been  attacked 
in  parliament,  would  have  been  to  destroy  all  that  he 
had  so  laboriously  achieved  since  the  beginning  of 
the  reign,  and  to  submit  once  more  to  that  condition 
of  servitude  under  which  his  grandfather  had  fretted. 
Whatever  he  might  be  called  upon  to  endure,  that 
humiliation,  at  least,  he  was  determined  to  avoid  ; 
and  he  is  deserving  of  whatever  credit  attaches  to 
high  resolve  and  steady  purpose,  for  his  conduct  in 
a  crisis  which  would  have  strained  the  nerves  and 
taxed  the  ingenuity  of  the  most  adroit  and  experienced 
of  politicians.  Dark  and  devious  were  the  ways 
he  trod,  but  the  royal  gaze,  however  circuitous  the 
course,  never  wandered  from  the  goal  upon  which  it 
had  been  set  from  the  first. 

The  problem,  confronting  him  at  the  beginning 
of  July,  was  simple  enough  to  state,  but  exceedingly 
difficult  to  solve.  If  Grafton  was  allowed  to  resign, 
the  ministry  might  fall,  and  the  opposition  storm  the 
cabinet  at  the  point  of  the  sword.  This,  the  worst 
disaster  that  could  happen,  must  be  averted  at  all 
cost,  and  Grafton  must  continue  in  power  in  order 
to  preserve  the  government.  But,  time  and  time  again, 
Grafton  had  declared  that  he  would  retire  unless  the 
administration  received  an  accession  of  parliamentary 
strength ;  and  therefore  the  king  found  himself 
obliged  to  sanction  a  negotiation  with  those  in  opposi- 
tion. The  danger  of  such  a  proceeding  is  sufficiently 
obvious.  During  the  session  just  concluded, 
Rockingham,  Grenville,  and  Bedford  had  fought  side 
by  side  against  the  government  ;  and  it  might  well 
be  that,  when  approached  by  the  court,  they  would 
refuse  to  be  separated,  and  demand  the  construction 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION    153 

of  a  ministry  representative  of  all  parties  in  opposition. 
To  allow  this,  would  be  for  the  king  to  make  an  abject 
surrender  to  what  he  deemed  the  forces  of  faction  ; 
and  this  he  was  certainly  not  prepared  to  do.  But, 
no  longer  an  inexperienced  boy,  he  detected  the  weak 
link  in  his  adversaries'  armour.  Convinced  that  the 
union  of  the  opposition  leaders  was  essentially  unreal, 
the  offspring  of  an  occasion  and  not  the  result  of 
community  of  principles,1  he  determined  to  break  up 
the  alliance  which  threatened  his  safety.  On  Saturday, 
July  4th,  he  commissioned  the  Duke  of  Grafton  to 
inquire  from  Lord  Gower  whether  there  was  any  hope 
of  the  Duke  of  Bedford  and  his  followers  joining  the 
administration.  Taking  profit  by  Gower's  attitude 
a  few  weeks  before,  the  king  no  longer  confined  the 
offer  to  the  Bedford  party  alone,  being  willing  that 
both  Temple  and  Grenville  should  be  given  places 
in  the  cabinet.  But,  though  this  much  was  conceded, 
it  was  expressly  stipulated  that  Grafton  must  remain 
at  the  treasury  ;  and  the  object  of  this  condition  is 
not  hard  to  understand.  With  Grafton  continuing 
at  his  post,  any  changes,  which  might  be  made,  would 
'  bear  the  appearance  of  an  accession  to,  and  not  a 
defeat  of,  the  present  administration  "  ;  and  thus  it 
could  never  be  said  that  the  king  had  surrendered  to 
his  enemies.2 

Armed  with  the  royal  authority,  Grafton  visited 
Gower  without  delay,  and  found  him  in  a  concilia- 
tory mood.  He  seemed  to  think  that  both  Bedford 
and  Temple  would  be  ready  to  discuss  terms,  and 
would  raise  no  objection  to  Grafton  continuing  at  the 
treasury ;  and,  if  no  more  had  been  said,  a  negotiation 
might   have   been   actively   begun.     But   Gower   was 

'  Chatham  Correspondence,  3,  260,  262. 
2  Grafton's  Autobiography,  p.  151. 


154     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

careful  to  add  that  whatever  place  Temple  might 
accept  in  the  cabinet,  he  would  claim  equal  authority 
with  Grafton  ;  for,  continued  Gower,  "  how  can  he  think 
of  having  less  weight  in  this,  than  in  one  last  year,  which 
he  would  not  enter  into  unless  pari  passu  with  Lord 
Chatham  ?  "  *  It  is  clear  that  this  new  and  some- 
what unexpected  demand  alarmed  both  the  king  and 
Grafton  when  they  discussed  the  situation  together 
on  Sunday,  July  5th.  It  would  be  of  little  profit 
that  Grafton  should  continue  at  the  treasury  if  he  was 
obliged  to  share  his  supremacy  with  Temple  ;  and 
George  III.  was  quick  to  see  that,  if  such  terms  were 
granted,  the  transformed  cabinet  would  be  far  less 
the  old  re-cast  than  a  new  administration  presided 
over  by  Temple.  He  did  not  take  long  to  makeup 
his  mind,  and  Grafton  was  dispatched  to  inform 
Gower  that  his  terms  had  not  been  approved  at  court. 
Before,  however,  the  first  lord  of  the  treasury  left  the 
royal  presence,  the  king  intimated  that  he  desired 
to  see  Conway.2 

This  wish  was  not  due  to  the  idle  whim  of  the 
moment.  Having  come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was 
vain  to  expect  assistance  from  the  Bedfords,  he  was 
anxious  to  discover  what  "  possibility  there  might 
be  of  finding  Lord  Rockingham's  friends  practic- 
able "  ; 3  and  he  knew  that  Conway  could  give  him 
the  information  he  sought.  For,  like  the  cautious 
political  archer  that  he  was,  George  III.  had  been 
careful  to  have  two  strings  to  his  bow  ;  and,  at  the 
same  time  that  a  formal  offer  was  made  to  Lord 
Gower,  a  more  or  less  subterraneous  negotiation  was 
being  carried  on  with  the  Rockingham  whigs.  On 
Friday,  July  3rd,  Conway  informed  Rockingham  that 

1  Grafton's  Autobiography,  pp.  146,  151  ;   Grenville  Papers,  4,  33,  36. 

2  Grafton's  Autobiography,  p.  152.  3  Ibid. 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION    155 

he  and  his  party  would  probably  be  approached  by 
Grafton  if  they  could  pledge  themselves  not  to  demand 
either  the  removal  of  Camden  from  the  woolsack  or 
Lord  Granby  from  the  post  of  commander-in-chief  ;  1 
and,  though  no  mention  was  made  of  the  king's  name, 
it  is  impossible  to  believe  that  such  a  message  was 
given  without  the  royal  sanction  or  approval.  Neither 
Grafton  nor  Conway  would  have  dared  to  have  taken 
such  a  step  on  their  own  authority  ;  and,  in  approaching 
the  Rockingham  party  in  this  informal  way,  the  king 
displayed  no  little  craft  and  cunning.  If  the  negotia- 
tion with  the  Bedfords  proved  successful,  he  could 
easily  disavow  what  Conway  had  done,  since  his  name 
had  not  been  mentioned  ; 2  and,  if  Gower  and  his 
friends  proved  obdurate,  then  it  was  open  to  the 
king  to  continue  what  Conway  and  Grafton  had 
begun.  And  great  was  the  advantage  which  George 
III.  might  reap  from  a  negotiation  with  the  Rockingham 
party.  If  brought  to  a  successful  conclusion,  Conway, 
delighted  at  being  reconciled  to  his  old  friends,  would 
almost  certainly  remain  in  office  ;  and  all  might  not 
be  lost  even  if  the  negotiation  should  prove  abortive. 
In  the  event  of  failure  it  would  be  to  the  royal  ad- 
vantage to  throw  all  the  blame  upon  Lord  Rockingham 
and  his  followers,  to  represent  their  demands  as 
excessive,  and  their  aim  as  the  enslavement  of  the 
monarchy  rather  than  the  safety  of  the  nation  ;  for 
then,  Conway,  disgusted  at  such  factious  conduct, 
might  consent  to  remain  in  office,  even  though  his 
friends  continued  in  opposition.  It  was  a  bold  game, 
and  boldly  did  the  king  play  it. 

1  Newcastle's  Narrative,  pp.  104,  108. 

2  "  Nothing  that  has  dropped,"  wrote  Rockingham  on  July  4th,  "  seems 
to  '40  further  than  towards  a  treaty  with  us  ;  and  nothing  drops  in  regard 
to  his  majesty,  but  only  as  the  Duke  of  Grafton's  opinion  that  his  majesty'.-, 
preference  is  to  us."     Add.  MS.,  329S3,  f.  55. 


156     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

Rockingham  lost  no  time  in  imparting  to  his  sup- 
porters what  Conway  had  told  him  ;  and  a  few  of  the 
leading  members  of  the  party,1  together  with  Conway, 
dined  at  his  house  on  the  evening  of  July  3rd.  To 
reject  the  overtures,  without  further  parley,  would  be 
unduly  precipitate,  and  most  certainly  hazardous, 
for  Rockingham  had  been  given  a  hint  that,  if  he  and 
his  allies  "  were  shy,  and  would  not  show  a  readiness 
to  treat,  the  probability  was  that  the  treaty  might 
be  carried  on  elsewhere  "  ; 2  and  it  did  not  need 
much  insight  to  understand  that  the  reference  was  to 
Woburn.  No  more  effective  spur  could  have  been 
applied.  '  I  think,  if  the  negotiation  is  thrown  into 
our  hands,"  wrote  the  Marquis  to  Newcastle,  "  we 
may  possibly  succeed  in  persuading  the  Duke  of 
Bedford's  friends  to  take  part  with  us.  If,  on  the 
contrary,  the  negotiation  is  thrown  into  the  Duke  of 
Bedford's,  etc.,  they  must  of  course  naturally  make  their 
point  George  Grenville  ;  and  in  that  case  George  Gren- 
ville  and  Lord  Temple  will  take  the  lead  in  administra- 
tion." 3  The  reasoning  was  just,  and  all  gathered  round 
Rockingham's  table  agreed  in  thinking  that  it  would 
be  a  great  mistake  abruptly  to  refuse  to  treat.  The 
demand  that  Granby  must  be  retained  as  Commander- 
in-chief  could  be  easily  fulfilled,  for  Lord  Albemarle, 
the  only  member  of  the  Rockingham  party  who  might 
justly  aspire  to  that  office,  was  quite  prepared  to 
forego  his  claims ;  and  although  Charles  Yorke, 
baffled  once  more  in  the  hope  of  obtaining  the  greatest 
prize  of  the  legal  profession,  might  well  be  offended 
if  Lord  Camden  continued  as  lord  chancellor,  it  was 
suggested  that  he  might  be  consoled  by  a  peerage  and 

1  The  Duke  of  Portland,  Lord  Winchelsea,  Lord  Albemarle,  Dowdeswell, 
Lord  John,  and  Lord  Frederick  Cavendish,  were  the  guests. 
•Add.  MS.,  32983,  f.  55- 
3  Add.  MS.,  32983,  f.  55  ;   Newcastle's  Narrative,  p.  104. 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION    157 

the  office  of  lord  president  of  the  council.1  Yet, 
though  unwilling  to  make  unnecessary  difficulties, 
the  Rockingham  whigs  displayed  no  feverish  anxiety 
to  accept  whatever  the  court  might  choose  to  offer. 
All  concurred  in  thinking  that  as  yet  too  little  informa- 
tion had  been  given  to  enable  a  definite  answer  to  be 
framed,  and  that  no  further  steps  could  be  taken 
until  it  was  ascertained  "  whether  a  general  and  solid 
plan  was  the  object."  2  If  it  was  only  intended  to 
change  the  occupants  of  two  or  three  offices,  keeping 
the  administration  much  as  it  was,  they  agreed  that 
they  "  would  much  prefer  seeing  any  set,  or  sets,  under- 
take administration,  on  such  a  foot,  than  be  the  under- 
takers ourselves."  3 

This  cautious  reserve  concealed  a  well-founded 
suspicion  that  the  king  was  sounding  his  way  by 
separate  negotiations  with  the  different  parties  in 
opposition,4  so  as  to  break  up  that  union  which 
threatened  the  safety  of  the  ministry ;  and  the  Rock- 
ingham whigs  were  determined  not  to  be  trapped 
in  the  royal  snare.  The  experience  of  the  last  two 
years  had  impressed  upon  them  the  inadequacy 
of  their  own  parliamentary  strength,  and  the  necessity 
of  an  alliance  with  the  Bedford  party  ;  and  Rock- 
ingham quickly  communicated  what  Conway  had 
told  him  to  Gower  and  Weymouth.5  He  acted 
wisely  in  so  doing.  Such  frankness  was  certain 
to  assist  in  maintaining  the  friendly  relations  which 

1  Add.  MS.,  32985,  f.  55.  Newcastle,  however,  was  less  sanguine.  "  The 
two  points  insisted  upon,"  he  wrote  to  Rockingham,  "  of  Lord  Granby  and  the 
chancellor,  are,  I  believe,  the  Duke  of  Grafton's  own.  As  to  the  first,  if  my 
Lord  Albemarle  is  satisfied  with  it,  I  can  have  no  objection  to  it.  As  to 
the  other,  your  lordship  knows  more  of  the  Yorkes  than  I  do  ;  but  so  much 
I  think  I  know  that  they  will  never  be  satisfied  till  Charles  Yorke  has  the 
great  seal."     Add.  MS.,  32983,  f.  59. 

2  Add.  MS.,  32983,  f.  59  ;   Newcastle's  Narrative,  p.  104. 

3  Ibid.  *  Ibid.  G  Ibid.  ;    Newcastle's  Narrative,  p.  108. 


158     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

had  existed  between  the  two  parties  during  the  par- 
liamentary session,  and  might  possibly  lay  a  founda- 
tion for  further  action.  Uncertain  of  much  else, 
all  those,  with  whom  Rockingham  had  taken  counsel, 
were  of  the  opinion  that  if  they  were  expected 
to  form  a  ministry,  they  must  "  talk  with  the 
Bedfords."  1 

Such  was  the  political  situation  when,  on  Sunda}*-, 
July  5th,  the  king  determined  to  abandon  the  negotia- 
tion begun  with  Lord  Gower,  and  sought  information 
from  Conway.  It  may  be  surmised  that  the  secretary 
of  state's  report  was  favourable,2  for,  on  the  day  follow- 
ing Rockingham  learnt  that  Grafton  would  see  him 
on  July  7th,  "  and,"  added  Rockingham,  "  as  I  under- 
stand, authorised  by  his  majesty."  3  When  they  met, 
Grafton  inquired  whether  Rockingham  and  his  friends 
were  ready  to  "  come  into  administration  along  with 
the  remains  of  the  present  administration,"  and,  if 
so,  the  king  desired  that  they  would  submit  a  plan 
of  government.  On  inquiring  whether  the  offer  ex- 
tended to  the  Bedford  party,  Rockingham  was  informed 
that  it  did  ;  but  the  same  favour  was  not  shown  to 
Grenville  and  his  friends  who  were  subjected  to  what 
Rockingham  described  as  an  'implied  exclusion." 
When  the  treasury  came  under  discussion,  Grafton 
mentioned  that  Rockingham  might  have  that  office, 
and  that  he  himself  would  sit  in  the  cabinet  or  remain 
outside  "  according  as  it  might  appear  to  us  advantage- 

1  "  That  it  was  wished  by  us  to  know  whether  a  general  and  solid  plan  was 
the  object,  and  in  which  case  (though  under  no  engagements)  we  should  desire 
to  talk  with  the  Bedfords."  Add.  MS.,  32983,  f.  55  ;  Newcastle's  Narrative, 
p.  104  ;   see  also  p.  109. 

2  In  his  memoirs  (3,  46)  Walpole  gives  a  jejune,  and  not  very  trustworthy, 
account  of  this  interview.  Conway  is  represented  as  informing  the  king  that 
Rockingham  would  expect  to  be  given  the  treasury  ;  but  he  could  not  have 
learnt  this  at  the  meeting  on  July  3rd,  for  no  specific  demands  had  been  made. 

3  Add.  MS.,  32983,  f.  125  ;   Newcastle's  Narrative,  p.  no. 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION    159 

ous  for  the  administration."  1  Nothing  indeed  could 
have  been  more  gracious  and  yielding  than  Grafton's 
behaviour  at  this  interview ;  but  a  distinguished 
politician,  who  knew  well  the  race  of  which  he  was  so 
illustrious  a  member,  has  told  us  that  speech  was  given 
to  men  to  conceal  their  thoughts  ;  and  it  is  well  nigh 
impossible  to  believe  that  the  king  really  intended 
that  Rockingham  should  have  the  treasury.  Such 
a  concession  was  contrary  to  his  fixed  determination 
that  any  changes,  that  were  made,  must  "  bear  the 
appearance  of  an  accession  to;  and  not  a  defeat  of,  the 
present  administration  "  ;  and  it  is  far  more  probable 
that  Grafton,  weary  of  office,  either  gave  the  promise 
on  his  own  responsibility  or  with  the  sanction  of  the 
king  who  hoped  that  the  occasion  would  never  arise 
when  he  would  be  called  upon  to  fulfil  it.2  Nor  was 
this  the  only  hidden  obstacle,  for  the  "  implied  exclus- 
sion  "  of  the  Grenvilles  was  pregnant  with  mischief. 
Both  the  king  and  Grafton  must  have  been  well  aware 
that  the  permission  granted  to  Lord  Rockingham  to 
include  the  Bedford  party  in  the  negotiation  was 
indeed  a  barren  gift  if  Grenville  and  his  followers 
were  to  be  excluded  ;  and  even  Rockingham,  generally 

1  Add.  MS.,  32983,  f.  127  ;  Add.  MS.,  35430,  f.  85  ;  Newcastle's  Narrative, 
p.  1 10. 

2  Certainty  on  this  point  is  unfortunately  out  of  the  question.  There  is 
no  doubt  that  Rockingham  was  quite  convinced  that  he  had  been  offered 
the  treasury  (Add.  MSS.,  32983,  f.  127;  Add.  MS.,  35430,  f.  85).  When, 
however,  on  July  22nd,  he  thanked  the  king  for  the  offer,  the  latter  replied, 
"  that  it  was  not  an  offer  ;  that  the  Duke  of  Grafton  might  understand  it  so. 
but  the  king  did  not  mean  it  as  such."  On  the  day  following,  Grafton  ex- 
plained to  Rockingham  "  that  his  majesty  meant  to  convey  that  he  had  not 
offered  the  treasury  (which  he  could  not  do  out  of  delicacy  to  the  Duke  of 
Grafton)  but  that  there  was  no  mistake  in  understanding  it  as  intended  " 
(Rockingham  Memoirs,  2.  50;  Newcastle's  Narrative,  pp.  150,  154).  It  is 
difficult  to  weave  a  consistent  tale  out  of  these  cryptic  and  conflicting  utter- 
ances. It  is  possible  that  the  king  may  have  said  that  if  Grafton  persisted 
in  his  determination  to  resign,  Rockingham  might  succeed  him:  thus  the 
promise  was  only  conditional  upon  Grafton's  resignation  which  the  king  was 
resolved  to  prevent. 


160     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

so  optimistic,  was  troubled  by  the  vague  phrase,  "the 
remains  of  the  present  administration."  When 
pressed  for  further  explanation,  the  first  lord  of  the 
treasury  explained  the  remark  as  having  special 
reference  to  Lord  Camden,  but  he  was  careful  to  add 
that  there  must  be  "  much  caution  in  regard  to  others, 
by  way  of  preventing  at  this  moment  it  being  said 
that  his  majesty  gave  up  A,  B,  or  C,  etc."  When  the 
interview  was  over,  Rockingham  was  frankly  puzzled 
over  the  extent  of  the  authority  which  had  been 
granted  him,  informing  Newcastle  that  he  could 
"  consider  this  only  more  as  an  opening,  than  as  yet 
anything  on  which  a  judgment  can  be  formed.  The 
material  matter  is,  how  far  his  majesty  will  incline 
to  allow  us  to  introduce  a  number  sufficient  to  give 
real  strength.  If  that  can't  be,  I  own,  I  shall  have 
no  desire  to  be  a  part."  1 

Time  would  have  been  saved,  and  much  future 
trouble  averted,  if  Rockingham  had  cleared  up  his 
doubts  before  proceeding  further  ;  but  thinking  that 
there  was  a  sufficient  chance  of  success  to  justify 
action,  he  sent  off  an  express  to  Lord  Albemarle,  who 
was  staying  at  Woburn,  informing  him  of  what  had 
passed,  and  instructing  him  to  impart  the  news  to  his 
host.2  Moreover,  he  held  a  meeting  of  his  followers 
at  his  house  on  the  evening  of  July  7th,  when  dis- 
cussion, for  the  most  part,  centred  round  the  pro- 
scription which  had  been  placed  upon  George  Grenville  ; 
and,  although  few  of  the  Rockingham  whigs  had  any 
love  for  Grenville,3  they  realised  that  the  Bedfords 
would  never  move  without  him.  Understanding,  as 
they  did,  that  Grenville  had  been  proscribed  in  order 
to  render  an  alliance  between  the  Bedfords  and  them- 

1  Add.  MS.,  32983,  f.  127  :    Newcastle's  Narrative,  p.  no. 

2  Newcastle's  Narrative,  p.  no.  3  Ibid.,  p.  109. 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION    161 

selves  impossible,  two  courses  were  open  to  them — 
they  might  either  refuse  to  enter  upon  the  negotiation 
unless  Grenville  was  included  in  it,  or  they  might 
disregard  the  restriction  imposed  by  the  court.  Un- 
fortunately, they  chose  the  latter  alternative,  and, 
although  no  formal  understanding  was  arrived  at,  it 
was  more  or  less  generally  agreed  that,  if  the  Duke 
of  Bedford  pressed  the  claims  of  Grenville  and  Temple, 
they  should  be  given  places  in  the  cabinet,  provided 
that  neither  of  them  was  first  lord  of  the  treasury  or 
secretary  of  state  for  the  southern  department  which 
included  the  American  colonies.1 

Such  a  decision,  justified  though  it  might  be  by 
necessity,  certainly  laid  the  Rockingham  whigs  open 
to  the  charge  of  exceeding  the  limits  of  their  instruc- 
tions ;  but  the  hope  of  once  more  coming  into  office 
inclined  them  to  minimise  the  obstacles  which  lay 
between  them  and  their  goal.  And,  for  the  time  being, 
there  appeared  to  be  every  inculcation  of  ultimate 
success.  From  Woburn  Lord  Albemarle  wrote  that 
"  the  Duke  of  Bedford  most  sincerely  wishes  to  join 
with  you  in  the  great  plan  of  removing  the  favourite 
and  his  friends  from  court.  This  end,  his  grace 
thinks,  cannot  be  attained  without  the  junction 
and  hearty  concurrence  of  Mr  Grenville,  and  asked  me 
if  you  would  have  any  objection  to  treat  with  Mr 
Grenville.  I  ventured  to  say  that  you  certainly  would 
not,  provided  it  was  through  his  grace  as  one  of  his 
friends.  He  is  very  sanguine  in  his  wishes.  The 
treasury  they  look  upon  as  yours."  2     Such  reassuring 

1  Newcastle's  Narrative,  pp.  Ill,  118,  120.  Portland  and  Newcastle  were 
in  favour  of  Grenville  and  his  party  being  included  whether  Bedford  pressed 
their  claims  or  not,  on  the  ground  that  it  was  very  doubtful  "  whether  a  total 
exclusion  of  my  Lord  Temple,  and  his  brothers,  and  of  my  Lord  Lyttelton, 
will  quite  answer  the  view  and  plan  of  settling  a  lasting  administration  which 
should  go  on  with  ease  and  success." 

3  Rockingham  Memoirs,  2,  46  ;    Newcastle's  Narrative,  p.  130. 


162     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

information  decided  Rockingham  to  visit  Woburn 
in  person ;  but,  before  leaving  London,  he  was  visited 
by  Rigby  who  undertook  to  convey  to  Grenville  that 
the  Bedford  party  was  quite  prepared  to  allow  Rock- 
ingham to  have  the  treasury,  and  to  endeavour  "  to 
prevail  upon  him  to  support,  if  not  to  take  a  part  in,  an 
administration  formed  of  the  Duke  of  Bedford's  and 
your  grace's  friends."  A  safer  envoy  than  Rigby  might, 
perhaps,  have  been  chosen.  He  had  always  favoured 
Grenville  rather  than  Rockingham  as  the  suitable  ally 
for  his  leader,  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  and  he  frankly  de- 
clared himself  in  favour  of  Grenville's  colonial  policy.1 
With  Rigby  at  Wotton,  and  Rockingham  at  Woburn, 
the  negotiation  was  transferred  from  London  into 
the  country.  On  Friday,  July  ioth,  Rigby  discussed 
affairs  with  Grenville  who  declared  that,  though  he 
would  not  take  office  himself,  he  was  ready  to  give 
his  support  to  any  administration  which  pursued 
a  colonial  policy  he  approved ; 2  and,  when  he  heard 
what  Grenville  had  said,  Rockingham  was  more 
sanguine  than  ever.  He  seems  to  have  paid  little 
attention  to  the  reference  to  America,  which  might 
justly  have  alarmed  him,  and  to  have  been  more  than 
satisfied  that  Grenville  was  prepared  to  support 
the  ministry  when  formed,  and  cherished  no  designs 
upon  the  treasury.  He  must  have  been  still  more 
elated  when  Rigby,  who  had  been  sent  over  to  Stowe 
for  the  purpose,  returned  with  the  information  that 
Temple  had  declared  his  readiness  to  unite  "  in  a  plan 
to  extirpate  the  influence  of  Lord  Bute,  though  neither 
he  nor  his  brother  were  thought  on  by  the  king  to  be 
at  the  head  of  this  new  administration."  3 

1  Newcastle's  Narrative,  pp.  126,  130;    Grenville  Papers,  4,  227  ff. 

2  Grenville  Papers,  4,  48  ;   Bedford  Correspondence,  3,  365. 

3  Bedford  Correspondence,  3,  365. 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION    163 

On  Sunday,  July  12th,  Rockingham  was  back  again 
in  London,  delighted  at  the  progress  that  had  been 
made.  '  I  can  only  now  say,"  he  wrote  to  Newcastle 
on  his  arrival,  "  that  appearances  are  more  and  more 
favourable.  The  Duke  of  Bedford  most  cordial,  and 
the  result  of  Rigby's  visit  at  Wooton  and  Stowe  adds 
much  to  the  general  promising  aspect."  x  "  Lord 
Rockingham,"  Hardwicke  informed  Charles  Yorke, 
'  is  come  back  with  flying  colours  from  Woburn,  a 
most  successful  negotiation."  2  But  the  real  tussle  was 
now  to  begin,  and  the  clear  divergence,  between  what 
Rockingham  desired  and  the  king  intended,  to  be 
revealed.  At  an  interview  with  Grafton  on  July 
15th,  Rockingham  requested  to  know  whether  the 
king  was  prepared  to  allow  him  to  form  an  administra- 
tion on  a  comprehensive  plan,  and  to  grant  him  a 
preliminary  audience  for  the  discussion  of  details. 
Grafton  started  at  the  word  comprehensive,  pointing 
out  that,  if  the  Rockinghams,  the  Bedfords,  and  even 
the  Grenvilles  were  to  be  admitted  into  office,  this 
was  hardly  consistent  with  "  his  majesty's  most  gracious 
opening  to  his  lordship  where  the  remainder  of  the 
present  administration,  together  with  the  chancellor, 
was  to  be  the  foundation  of  it."  Rockingham  ap- 
parently allowed  the  force  of  this  contention,  but 
still  asserted  that  neither  he  nor  his  followers  would 
join  any  ministry  without  "  Bedford  and  his  friends, 
such  of  Mr  Grenville's  also  as  chose  to  come  into 
office  ;  for  as  to  particular  determination  thereupon 
of  Lord  Temple  or  his  brother  personally,  his  lordship 
did  not  take  it  upon  him  to  answer."  3 

Grafton  might  well  start  at  the  word  comprehensive, 
for  grave  was  the  situation  which  confronted  him  and 

1  Newcastle's  Narrative,  p.  133.  2  Add.  MS.,  35362,  f.  129. 

3  Grafton's  Autobiography,  p.  146  ;    Grenville  Papers,  4,  54,  58. 


164     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

his  master,  threatened  as  they  were,  apparently,  by  a 
union  of  all  the  different  parties  in  opposition.  What 
they  had  schemed  to  avert x  seemed  to  have  come  to 
pass  in  defiance  of  all  their  efforts.  If  they  had  hoped, 
as  indeed  they  almost  certainly  had,  that  the  pro- 
scription of  Grenville  would  prove  an  insurmountable 
barrier  to  an  alliance  between  the  Bedfords  and  the 
Rockinghams,  great  must  have  been  their  disappoint- 
ment at  the  turn  events  had  taken.  Moreover,  they 
might  feel  justly  aggrieved ;  for,  if  there  was  a  breach 
of  faith,  it  was  on  the  part  of  Lord  Rockingham. 
He  had  included  Grenville  in  the  negotiation  after 
he  had  been  forbidden  to  do  so  ;  and  he  had  acted 
on  the  assumption,  which  he  well  knew  to  be  at  least 
unproven,  that  an  entirely  new  administration  was  to 
be  formed.2  But,  however  threatening  might  be  the 
aspect,  George  III.  was  resolved  to  defend  his  closet 
against  those  who  ^nought  to  take  it  by  assault,  and 
never  to  forego  his  royal  right  of  choosing  his  servants 
in  accordance  with  his  own  will,  not  at  the  dicta- 
tion of  parliament.  "  After  having  delivered  to  his 
majesty  the  answer  which  your  lordship  communicated 
to  General  Conway  and  myself  this  morning,"  wrote 
Grafton  to  Rockingham,  "  I  was  commanded  to 
acquaint  your  lordship  that  the  king  wishes  your  lord- 

1  "  In  the  present  moment,"  wrote  Charles  Yorke  to  Hardwicke  on  July 
nth,  "  the  court  means  to  divide  the  opposition  which  they  see  cementing, 
and  which,  in  consequence  of  that  cement,  will  prove  as  formidable  in  the 
house  of  commons  hereafter  as  it  showed  itself  in  the  house  of  lords  at  the 
close  of  the  session.  And  they  believe  the  points  of  power  to  be  irrecon- 
cilable, and  the  rocks  on  which  the  opposition  will  split."  Add.  MSS., 
35362,  f.  126. 

2  "  I  have  just  seen  the  marquess,"  wrote  Lord  Weymouth  on  July  15th, 
"  who  did  not  see  the  Duke  of  Grafton  till  this  morning.  He  told  him  what 
was  agreed  at  Woburn,  and  said  that  he  now  hoped  to  be  able  to  form  a 
ministry  upon  a  comprehensive  plan  ;  but  as  this  differed  a  little  from  the 
first  proposal  of  his  grace,  he  could  not  properly  desire  an  audience  till  he 
knew  whether  his  majesty  was  disposed  to  receive  a  plan  on  this  compre- 
hensive idea."     Grenville  Papers,  4,  58. 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION    165 

ship  would  specify  the  plan  on  which  you  and  your 
friends  would  come  into  office  in  order  to  extend  and 
strengthen  his  administration." x  This  was  a  polite 
way  of  intimating  to  Rockingham  that  he  had  ex- 
ceeded his  instructions,  and  that  he  had  never  been 
called  upon  to  construct  a  new  ministry ;  but,  confident 
that  he  could  count  upon  the  support  of  Grenville 
and  Bedford,  he  still  adhered  to  his  original  demands. 
'  I  hope  your  grace  will  do  me  the  honour,"  he  wrote 
in  answer  to  Grafton,  "  to  explain  to  his  majesty  that 
the  principle,  on  which  I  would  proceed,  should  be  to 
consider  the  present  administration  as  at  an  end, 
notwithstanding  the  great  regard  and  esteem  which  I 
have  for  some  of  those  who  compose  it.  If  his  majesty 
thinks  it  for  his  service  to  form  a  new  administration 
on  a  comprehensive  plan  ...  I  should  then  humbly 
hope  to  have  his  majesty's  permission  to  attend  him, 
in  order  to  receive  his  commands,  it  being  impossible 
to  enter  into  particulars  till  I  have  his  majesty's  leave 
to  proceed  upon  this  plan."  2 

Thus,  the  antagonists  stood  face  to  face,  each  able 
to  take  the  measure  of  the  other's  sword  ;  but  the 
king  never  wavered  in  the  determination  to  save  his 
ministry  from  overthrow.  Yet,  if  he  absolutely  refused 
Rockingham's  demands,   Conway,   affronted  that   his 

1  Grafton's  Autobiography,  p.  144.  This  letter  was  composed  by  Conway, 
his  brother,  Lord  Hertford,  and  Grafton,  and  submitted  to  Horace  Walpole, 
who  objected  to  it.  He  argued  that  the  opposition,  knowing  that  they  would 
disagree  when  it  came  to  a  discussion  of  details,  wanted  an  excuse  for  breaking 
off  the  negotiation,  and  that  this  letter,  by  indirectly  refusing  the  demand 
for  the  formation  of  a  comprehensive  administration,  gave  them  the  oppor- 
tunity they  sought.  He  therefore  drafted  a  letter  in  which  Grafton  was  made 
to  say,  "  that  the  king  wishes  your  lordship  would  specify  to  him  the  plan 
on  which  you  and  your  friends  would  propose  to  come  in,  in  order  to  form  an 
extensive  and  solid  administration  "  ;  but  this  revised  version,  though  ap- 
proved by  the  ministers,  was  rejected  at  the  last  moment,  probably  because 
the  king  withheld  his  sanction.     Walpole's  Memoirs,  3,  51,  52. 

2  Ibid. 


166     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

friends  had  not  received  better  treatment,  would 
execute  his  threat  of  resignation,  and  Grafton  would 
almost  certainly  follow  him  into  retirement.  Thus 
it  would  appear  that,  whichever  course  the  king  took, 
the  dissolution  of  the  ministry  would  come  to  pass  ; 
but  he  was  by  this  time  too  experienced  a  politician 
not  to  know  that  there  is  always  more  than  one  way 
out  of  a  difficulty.  The  loophole  of  escape  lay  in 
pursuing  a  policy  of  stooping  to  conquer.  It  might 
be  well  to  grant  Rockingham  the  desired  permission 
to  form  a  comprehensive  plan,  for  that  might  turn 
out  to  be  the  most  effective  way  of  shattering  the 
opposition  alliance  into  fragments.  There  was  a 
reasonable  prospect  that,  when  the  opposition  leaders 
came  to  discuss  details,  they  would  fall  out  both  over 
men  and  measures,  and  fail  to  agree  upon  the  much 
vaunted  comprehensive  scheme.  If  they  were  allowed 
this  rope  to  hang  themselves,  Conway  could  feel  no 
grievance,  and  might  even  consent  to  remain  in  office  ; 
and  thus,  what  force  could  not  accomplish,  guile  might 
effect.1 

It  is  in  the  light  of  this  policy  of  craft  that  one 
must  view  the  change  in  the  attitude  of  the  court, 
which  took  place  at  this  juncture.  Apparently 
abandoning  his  previous  position,  Grafton,  in  a  letter 
to  Rockingham  on  July  17th,  declared  that  "  the  king's 
gracious   sentiments   concur   with   your   lordship's   in 

1  "  I  understand,"  wrote  Grafton  to  Northington  on  July  19th,  "  that 
they  are  now  employed  in  making  out  their  plan  to  be  offered  to  his  majesty's 
consideration,  a  work  which,  before  it  can  be  brought  to  birth,  seems  open 
to  so  many  accidents,  that  I  am,  I  own,  not  without  thinking  it  possible  that 
it  may  disunite  parties  freshly  and  loosely  cemented,  and  that  some  one 
among  them  may  find  it  for  their  interest,  as  well  as  credit,  to  fall  in  honor- 
ably with  the  present  administration.  If  resentment  comes  in  aid  on  account 
of  too  little  consideration  shown  to  some,  or  too  much  power  grasped  at  by 
another,  this  event  may  still  be  the  more  likely."  Grafton's  Autobiography \ 
pp.  146-8. 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION    167 

regard  to  the  forming  of  a  comprehensive  plan  of 
administration,  and  that  his  majesty,  desirous  of 
uniting  the  hearts  of  all  his  subjects,  is  most  ready  and 
willing  to  appoint  such  a  one  as  shall  exclude  no 
denomination  of  men  attached  to  his  person  and 
government."  x  No  surrender  could  have  been, 
superficially,  more  complete,  and  Rockingham  imme- 
diately set  to  work  to  prepare  a  plan  which  he  could 
submit  to  the  king.  On  the  evening  of  Monday, 
July  20th,  most  of  the  leading  politicians  in  opposition 
assembled  at  Newcastle's  stately  residence  in  Lincoln's 
Inn  Fields.  The  Rockingham  party  was  represented 
by  its  leader,  Newcastle,  Richmond,  Dowdeswell, 
and  Keppel  ;  and  the  Duke  of  Bedford  was  accom- 
panied by  Sandwich,  Weymouth,  and  Rigby.  Neither 
Grenville  nor  Temple  was  present,  but  they  were 
represented  in  their  absence  by  Rigby,  and  had  no 
reason  to  complain  of  his  zeal.  When  all  had  assembled, 
Rigby  read  a  letter  from  Grenville  couched  in  a  haughty 
and  menacing  tone.  He  demanded  that  steps  should 
be  taken  to  assert  and  establish  the  sovereignty  of 
Great  Britain  over  the  colonies,  that,  though  neither 
he  nor  Temple  desired  to  take  office,  their  friends 
should  have  a  becoming  share  of  employments  ;  and 
that  a  certain  number  of  places  must  be  left  vacant, 
which  they  would  divide  among  their  followers  if 
they  approved  of  the  general  plan  agreed  upon.  It  is 
not  surprising  that  such  demands  provoked  a  fierce 
and  heated  discussion.  If,  in  order  to  conciliate 
Grenville,  the  Rockinghams  agreed  to  assert  and 
establish  the  authority  of  England  over  the  colonies, 
they  might  find  themselves  committed  to  the  revival 
of    the    stamp    act  ;     and    weighty    arguments    were 

1  Grafton's   Autobiography,   p.    144.     The   letter  was  actually   composed 
by  Horace  Walpole.     Memoirs,  3,  53. 


168    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

urged  against  the  fulfilment  of  so  unreasonable  a 
request.  Rockingham,  anxious  to  keep  the  peace, 
contended  that  no  such  declaration  was  needed,  and 
that  "  future  differences  on  that  head  might  be 
avoided."  "  Such  a  declaration,"  he  continued, 
"  might  have  been  expected  if  they  were  treating 
with  Lord  Chatham  and  Lord  Camden,  but  he  and  his 
friends  had  repealed  the  stamp  act  in  the  particular 
circumstances  of  the  crisis,  with  the  strongest  salvo 
jure  imaginable."  Dowdeswell,  endeavouring  to  pour 
oil  upon  the  troubled  waters,  suggested  the  substitu- 
tion of  "  maintain  and  support  "  for  "  assert  and 
establish  "  ;  and  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  also  on  the 
side  of  peace,  endeavoured  to  mitigate  the  acerbity 
of  Grenville's  declaration.  Finally,  after  a  lengthy 
debate,  general  approval  was  given  to  a  form  of  words 
drawn  up  by  Bedford  who  was  instructed  to  submit 
his  amended  draft  to  Grenville  ;  but  at  this  point 
Rigby  again  intervened,  asserting  that  Bedford's 
compromise  would  never  be  accepted  by  Grenville. 
Weary  of  a  discussion  which  had  lasted  nigh  upon  four 
hours,  it  was  decided  to  leave  the  question  unsettled, 
and  to  pass  on  to  the  distribution  of  the  ministerial 
offices. 

The  change  of  topic  did  not  bring  with  it,  however, 
a  more  conciliatory  spirit.  Rockingham  was  justly 
indignant  at  Grenville's  outrageous  demand  that  a 
certain  number  of  places  should  be  left  vacant  for  his 
friends  to  take  or  refuse,  inquiring  of  Newcastle 
whether,  in  all  his  rich  and  varied  experience  of 
political  negotiations,  he  had  ever  known  such  a 
request  advanced.  More  trouble  was  caused,  however, 
by  Rockingham's  declaration  that,  in  the  ministry 
about  to  be  formed,  Conway  must  be  secretary  of  state 
and  leader  of  the  house  of  commons.     The  Duke  of 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION    169 

Bedford  at  once  stoutly  opposed  such  an  arrangement, 
and  refused  to  listen  to  Rockingham  when  he  urged 
that,  if  he  was  to  be  first  minister,  the  leader  of  the 
lower  house  must  be  one  whom  he  could  implicitly 
trust.  His  arguments  fell  upon  deaf  ears,  Bedford 
contending  that  Conway  was  a  bad  leader,  that  he  did 
not  approve  his  policy,  and  that  it  had  never  been 
intimated  to  him  that  such  an  arrangement  was  in 
contemplation.  For  hours  the  wrangling  continued, 
and  it  was  not  until  two  o'clock  in  the  morning 
that  the  meeting  broke  up,  nothing  having  been 
settled.1 

Those  skilled  in  reading  the  signs  in  the  political 
sky  must  have  known  that  little  hope  remained  of 
arriving  at  a  pacific  settlement  ;  and,  on  the  morning 
after  the  meeting,  Rockingham  and  Bedford  agreed 
in  regarding  "the  negotiation  as  absolutely  at 
an  end."2  Yet,  in  order  that  no  stone  should  be 
left  unturned,  Newcastle,  Rockingham,  Dowdeswell, 
Bedford,  and  Rigby,  met  again  at  Newcastle  House 
on  the  evening  of  July  21st  ;  but  with  no  better 
results  than  before.  Though  a  somewhat  softer  note 
was  struck  in  the  discussion  of  colonial  policy, 
Rockingham  still  insisted  that  Conway  must  remain 
the  leader  of  the  house  of  commons,  and  Bedford  and 
Rigby  still  asserted  that  to  this  they  could  never 
agree.  Thus,  no  settlement  was  possible,  and  the 
meeting  was  brought  to  a  conclusion  with  an  announce- 
ment by  Lord  Rockingham  "  that  each  party  was 
from  that  time  discharged  from  any  engagement 
to  each  other,  and   at  full   liberty  to   take  whatever 

1Add.  MS.,  32984,  f.  130;  Add.  MS.,  35362,  f.  139;  Grenville  Papers, 
4,  71,  80;  Bedford  Correspondence,  3,  382;  Rockingham  Memoirs,  2,  50; 
Newcastle's  Narrative,  p.  141  ;    Phillimore's  Life  of  Lord  Lyttelton,  2,  726. 

2  Newcastle's  Narrative,  p.  147. 


170     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

part  they  pleased  "  ;    and  to  this  declaration  Bedford 
assented.1 

Nothing  more  remained  for  Rockingham  to  do  than 
to  inform  the  king  that  he  had  failed  to  accomplish 
what  he  had  hoped  ;  and  on  Wednesday,  July  22nd, 
he  visited  the  court  for  that  purpose.  There  was 
little  left  for  him  to  say,  save  to  explain  how  he  came 
empty-handed,2  and  the  tidings  he  brought  could  not 
have  been  but  welcome  to  the  king.  For  George  III. 
now  enjoyed  his  moment  of  personal  triumph.  He  had 
played  for  high  stakes  and  had  won  ;  what  he  had 
hoped  might  happen  had  actually  come  to  pass,  and 
he  was  now  able  to  reap  the  fruit  of  his  prescience. 
Rockingham  came  to  court  a  humiliated  man.  The 
very  foundations  on  which  he  had  built,  the  support 
of  Grenville  and  Bedford,  had  proved  as  shifting  and 
unstable  as  sea- washed  sand ;  and,  convinced  by  hard 
realities  of  a  truth  to  which  he  had  long  been  blind, 
it  seemed  possible  that  he  might  now  consent  to  that 
which  he  had  formerly  scorned,  and  throw  in  his  lot 
with  the  existing  administration.  The  king,  indeed, 
did  not  broach  this  question  to  the  whig  leader  at  the 
interview  on  July  22nd,  but  the  omission  was  probably 
due  to  forgetfulness  ;  3  for,  on  the  day  following, 
Rockingham  was  summoned  to  meet  Grafton  once  more 
at  Conway's  house,  and,  when  he  arrived,  was  informed 
that  "  the  treasury  was  again  open,  that  it  was  wished 
that  I  and  our  friends  would  come  in,  that  it  was  his 
majesty's  desire ;  and  the  Duke  of  Grafton  wished 
I  would  open  and  try  whether  with  him  and  General 
Conway  some  plan  could  not  be  hit  off  that  might  bring 

1  Grenville  Papers,  4,  71,  80  ;    Rockingham  Memoirs,  2,  50  ;    Newcastle's 
Narrative,  147  ;    Phillimore's  Lyttelton,  2,  726. 

2  Rockingham  Memoirs,  2,  50  ;    Newcastle's  Narrative,  p.  150. 

3  Newcastle's  Narrative,  p.  150. 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION    171 

our  friends  into  administration."  *  But  Rockingham, 
even  in  this  moment  of  despair,  refused  to  forsake 
the  principles  he  had  enunciated  from  the  very  outset 
of  the  negotiation.  He  could  not  forget  what  he  had 
suffered  when,  two  years  before,  having  no  support 
but  his  own  comparatively  scanty  following  in  parlia- 
ment, he  had  come  to  the  king's  assistance  ;  and  he 
was  resolved  never  to  repeat  the  experiment.  Deter- 
mined that  when  he  next  came  into  power  it  should  be 
at  the  head  of  a  party  which  would  make  him  in- 
dependent of  the  intrigues  of  the  court,  he  refused  to 
link  his  fortunes,  and  those  of  his  followers,  with  the 
existing  administration,  and  politely  declined  Grafton's 
offer.2 

Yet,  as  though  to  reward  him  for  the  courage  with 
which  he  had  faced  his  adverse  situation,  fortune 
continued  to  smile  upon  the  king;  for  Conway  con- 
sented to  remain  as  secretary  of  state.  Ever  since 
the  beginning  of  the  month,  that  unhappy  man  had 
been  on  the  rack  of  self-torment.  Every  dictate  of 
reason  and  honour  called  upon  him  to  withdraw  from 
a  ministry  whose  policy  he  disapproved ;  but,  as 
always  happens,  the  arguments  were  not  all  on  one 
side.  He  knew  that  Grafton  would  follow  him  into 
retirement,  and  that,  therefore,  upon  him  would  rest 
the  responsibility  for  the  downfall  of  the  government  ; 
but  even  this  did  not  cause  him  to  alter  his  determina- 
tion. He  still  pined  for  the  society  of  those  with  whom 
he  had  fought  the  good  fight  against  Grenville,  Bute, 
and  the  phalanx  of  placemen  in  the  pay  of  the  court  ; 
and  it  had  been  in  the  hope  that  he  would  consent 


1  It  should  be  noticed  that  the  treasury  on  this  occasion  was  not  offered 
to  Rockingham,  but  was  only  mentioned  as  "  open,"  which  may  be  interpreted 
as  meaning  that  Grafton  still  contemplated  immediate  resignation. 

2  Add.  MS.,  32984,  f.  34  ;    Newcastle's  Narrative,  p.  154. 


172     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

to  remain,  if  his  friends  were  admitted  into  office,  that 
the  negotiation  with  the  Rockingham  whigs  had  been 
begun.     On  the  failure  of  that  negotiation,  Conway, 
if  he  had  been  true  to  his  original  resolution,  would 
have  promptly  retired  ;    but,  in  an  evil  moment  for 
his  fame,  he  listened  to  the  counsels  of  his  brother, 
Lord  Hertford,  and  his  friend,  Horace  Walpole.     They 
presented  to  his  dazzled  eyes  a  highly  coloured  and 
distorted    picture    of    what    had    recently    happened. 
They  urged  that  Rockingham  had  now  thrown  in  his 
lot  with  Bedford  and  Grenville,  the  very  men  most 
bitterly  antagonistic  to  Conway,  that  he  had  sought 
to  storm  the  closet  at  the  point  of  the  sword,  and  that, 
when  an  offer  had  been  made  to  him  that  he  and  his 
party  should  join  the  government,  he  had  unhesitat- 
ingly refused  it.     Surely,  these  advisers  were  able  to 
urge,  Conway  was  now  absolved  from  all  allegiance 
to   a   leader   who   had   so   frankly   identified   himself 
with  the  forces  of  faction  ;    and,  hearkening  to  their 
advice,  he  consented  to  remain.1     That  he  was  uneasy 
about  his  conduct  is  shown  by  his  refusal  to  continue 
drawing  the  salary  of  his  office  ; 2    but  such  scruples 
of  conscience  mattered  little  to  the  king,  flushed  with 
a  great  triumph.     The  Duke  of  Grafton,  assured  that 
Conway  would  still  be  his  colleague,   abandoned   all 
thought  of  resignation;   and  thus,  out  of  the  turmoil 
of  the  conflict,  George  III.  emerged  victorious  over  his 

1  "On  the  Wednesday  Lord  Rockingham  asked  an  audience — as  every- 
body did,  and  must  think  to  offer  his  services.  .  .  .  The  marquis  behaved 
sillily  and  impertinently,  and  then  wondered  he  was  not  pressed  to  accept. 
Great  offence  was  taken  at  his  behaviour  ;  and  yet  there  was  coolness  and 
prudence  enough  left  to  permit  another  offer  to  be  made.  This  condescension 
did  the  business.  The  weak  man  took  it  for  weakness,  and  thinking  that  he 
should  force  more  and  more,  lost  all.  In  short,  he  refused — and  then  Mr  Conway 
found  himself  at  liberty.  He  and  the  Duke  of  Grafton  have  jointly  undertaken 
the  administration."     Walpole's  Letters,  7,  123-125. 

2  Chatham  Correspondence,  3,  286;    Walpole's  Letters,  7,  141-144- 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION    173 

enemies  who  had  thought  to  take  advantage  of  his 
hour  of  necessity. 

While  the  king  triumphed,  the  opposition  was 
busily  employed  in  allotting  the  blame  for  the  catas- 
trophe. Reflecting  in  after  years  upon  this  abortive 
negotiation,  Lord  Hardwicke  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  it  was  Lord  Rockingham  who  was  to  blame. 
"  I  have  always  thought,"  he  wrote,  "  that  Lord 
Rockingham  managed  it  ill.  He  differed  with  the 
Bedfords  for  the  sake  of  Mr  Conway  .  .  .  and  he  never 
came  close  enough  to  the  point  with  the  Duke  of 
Grafton  to  have  seen  what  he  could  make  of  that."  x 
Newcastle  was  much  of  the  same  opinion,  declaring 
that  "  jealousy  and  suspicion  of  Mr  Grenville,  artfully 
worked  up  by  young  men,  and  particularly  one  forward 
young  man,  in  our  house,2  have  brought  that  good 
young  man,  the  marquess,  into  this  final  resolution  "  ; 3 
and,  in  a  note  to  the  Duke  of  Portland,  he  pathetically 
described  the  failure  as  "  our  own  doing,  and  God 
forgive  those  who  are  the  occasion  of  it  " 4  He 
informed  Rockingham  that  the  breach  was  entirely 
due  to  the  "  insisting  upon  Mr  Conway  "  ;  5  and  to 
the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  he  declared  that,  how- 
ever much  Bedford  and  Rockingham  might  have 
differed  about  details,  they  ought  to  have  agreed 
upon  a  plan  of  administration  for  presentation  to  the 
king;  for  "if  his  majesty  had  been  advised  to  reject 
that  plan  (as  most  probably  he  would),  the  union 
would  then  have  remained  entire,  and  would  have 
been  strengthened  by  the  refusal  on  the  part  of  the 
court  ;  whereas  it  now  breaks  off  from  my  Lord 
Rockingham   insisting   at   our   last   meeting   that   Mr 

1  Add.  MS.,  35428,  f.  1  ;   Harris'  Hardwicke,  3,  459-460. 

2  Unfortunately,  it  is  impossible  to  identify  this  forward  young  peer. 

3  Add.  MS.,  32984,  f.  1.  4  Add.  MS.,  32984,  f.  14. 
6  Add.  MS.,  32984,  f.  36. 


174     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

Conway  should  remain  civil  minister  in  the  house  of 
commons,  contrary  to  what  everybody  understood 
to  have  been  his  own  intention  and  frequent  declara- 
tion." 1  If,  however,  Hardwicke  and  Newcastle  agreed 
in  thinking  that  Rockingham  had  blundered,  Lord 
Albemarle  and  Rockingham  himself  believed  that 
George  Grenville  was  the  culprit,2  a  compliment  which 
the  latter  was  not  behindhand  in  returning ; 3  and, 
while  the  Duke  of  Richmond  could  not  be  persuaded 
"  of  the  propriety  of  not  accepting  the  late  offers,  or 
at  least  of  not  having  gone  further  than  you  did,  so 
as  to  put  all  the  ministers  in  the  wrong,  by  driving 
them  to  avow  more  of  a  closet  system  than  they  would 
willingly  profess  to  the  world,"  Burke  was  emphatic 
in  his  declaration  that  it  was  the  sincerity  of  the  court 
that  was  at  fault.4 

Thus,  mutual  recriminations  followed  upon  defeat  ; 
but  contemporaries  are  not  always  the  best  critics, 
and,  suffering  under  the  smart  of  a  recent  disappoint- 
ment, Newcastle  and  others  might  take  a  somewhat 
jaundiced  view  of  the  motives  and  actions  of  those 
whom  they  held  responsible  for  the  downfall  of  their 
hopes.  That  Rockingham  was  guilty  of  undue  pre- 
cipitation may  be  allowed.  He  built  too  much  upon 
impressions  gleaned  from  a  flying  visit  to  Woburn, 
and  thought  too  little  of  that  significant  remark 
dropped  by  Grenville  that  he  would  only  support  an 
administration  which  pursued  a  colonial  policy  which 
he  approved.  Nor  can  he  escape  blame  for  exceeding 
the  authority  entrusted  to  him  ;  for  it  was  never 
contended  that,  in  the  first  instance,  the   king  had 

1  Add.  MS.,  32984,  f.  62. 

2  Add.  MS.,  32984,  f.  8,  f.  10  ;   Bedford  Correspondence,  3,  387  ;  Newcastle's 
Narrative,  p.  155. 

3  Hist.  MSS.  Comm.,  Various  Collections,  vol.  vi.,  pp.  250-252. 

4  Burke's  Correspondence,  1,  132-144. 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION    175 

authorised  him  to  construct  a  new  ministry  in  the 
place  of  the  old.  Neither  George  III.  nor  Grenville 
was  perhaps  guilty  of  the  degree  of  insincerity  in  this 
transaction  with  which  they  have  sometimes  been 
credited.  Extravagant  as  were  the  demands  pre- 
sented by  Grenville  at  the  meeting  on  July  20th, 
there  is  no  evidence  that  he  purposely  exaggerated 
them  in  order  to  ruin  all  chance  of  agreement ;  and 
the  king,  though  descending  to  deceit  in  the  last  stages 
of  the  negotiation,  cannot  be  convicted  of  never  having 
seriously  intended  to  give  office  to  Rockingham  and 
his  followers.  Indeed,  the  cause  of  failure  lay  far 
deeper  than  the  Machiavellian  schemings  of  factious 
politicians ;  success  did  not  reward  the  laborious 
endeavours  to  attain  it,  for  the  simple,  though  not 
at  the  time  obvious,  reason  that  the  impossible  was 
being  attempted.  In  the  purely  destructive  work 
of  parliamentary  criticism,  it  had  been  comparatively 
easy  for  the  various  parties  in  opposition  to  sink  their 
differences,  and  to  unite  in  an  attack  upon  the  govern- 
ment ;  but,  when  they  approached  the  work  of  con- 
structing a  ministry  and  a  policy,  harmony  was 
quickly  succeeded  by  discord.  George  Grenville  and 
his  followers  still  regarded  Rockingham  as  the  states- 
man who,  frightened  by  a  few  riots  and  seditious 
speeches,  had  bartered  away  the  control  of  the  mother 
country  over  the  colonies  ;  and  they  had,  not  un- 
naturally, demanded  that  he  should  formally  renounce 
principles  which  they  deemed  pernicious.  Nor  was 
the  suspicion  entirely  on  one  side.  Rockingham  had 
not  forgotten  that  it  was  Grenville  who  had  supported 
the  peace  of  Paris,  had  defended  the  cyder  tax,  had 
prosecuted  Wilkes,  had  strained  every  nerve  to  pre- 
vent general  warrants  being  declared  illegal,  and,  to 
fill  the  cup  of  his  iniquity,  had  introduced  the  stamp 


176    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

act  ;  and  it  was  because  he  so  profoundly  dreaded 
the  influence  of  the  man,  against  whom  all  these 
misdeeds  could  be  charged,  that  he  was  so  persistent 
in  the  demand  that  Conway  should  be  leader  of  the 
house  of  commons.  If  Conway  was  not  given  that 
post,  there  was  no  one  who  could  compete  for  it  with 
Grenville  ;  and  Rockingham,  not  unreasonably,  feared 
what  such  a  lieutenant  in  the  lower  house  might  do. 
Separated  as  they  were  by  measures  rather  than  by 
men,  divided  by  the  yawning  chasm  of  the  American 
question,  neither  Rockingham,  Grenville,  nor  Bedford 
had  any  cause  to  blush  for  their  conduct  :  each  did 
what  was  right  in  his  own  eyes ;  and,  if  they  failed  to 
come  to  an  understanding,  it  was  largely  because  they 
were  fighting  for  principles  not  for  places. 

Thus,  the  unhappy  dispute  with  the  American 
colonies  had  plunged  a  poisoned  dagger  into  the  very 
heart  of  the  parliamentary  life  of  the  country  ;  and, 
when  every  allowance  has  been  made  for  the  king's 
courage,  his  perseverance,  and  his  capacity  for  in- 
trigue, it  still  remains  true  that  he  could  hardly  have 
accomplished  what  he  actually  did,  had  it  not  been 
for  the  divisions  among  his  enemies.  The  men,  who 
should  have  stood  united  against  the  crown,  drew 
their  swords  upon  one  another  at  the  critical  moment  ; 
and  Newcastle,  who  had  more  political  wisdom  than 
has  sometimes  been  allowed  him,  understood  that, 
unless  those  swords  were  quickly  sheathed,  the  royal 
victory  was  assured.  In  the  moment  of  despair  and 
disappointment  he  still  continued  to  preach  unity 
and  concord  :  and  it  was  because  he  cherished  such  a 
lively  fear  that  Rockingham  might  fall  apart  for  ever 
from  Grenville  and  Bedford,  that  he  so  bitterly  re- 
gretted the  former's  farewell  words  at  the  meeting 
on  July  21st.     "  The  great  thing,  my  lord,  that  hurt 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION    177 


me  the  most,"  he  wrote  to  his  leader,  "  was  the  strong 
declaration  your  lordship  made  to  the  Duke  of  Bedford, 
and  his  grace's  assent  to  it,  that  each  party  was  at 
full  liberty  to  take  what  part  they  pleased,  without 
consulting  or  considering  what  the  sentiments  of  the 
other  party  might  be  "  ;  *  and  to  the  Duke  of  Portland 
he  deplored  the  "  unfortunate  end  that  is  put  to  an 
union  and  connection  between  the  Bedfords  and  us."  2 
Lord  Albemarle,  with  equal  emphasis,  asserted  that 
all  would  be  lost  unless  friendly  relations  with  the 
Bedford  party  were  maintained,  implored  Rockingham 
not  to  break  off  intercourse  with  Bedford,  and,  rather 
unnecessarily,  pressed  the  same  advice  upon  Newcastle  : 
"  For  God's  sake,  my  dear  lord,"  he  wrote,  "  don't 
lose  sight  of  the  Duke  of  Bedford."  3  Nor  were 
Newcastle  and  Albemarle  mere  voices  in  an  other- 
wise silent  wilderness.  Rigby  assured  Lord  Albemarle 
that  the  Bedford  party  was  eager  for  opposition  and 
for  union  with  the  Rockingham  whigs ;  but,  and 
the  inquiry  was  significant,  he  expressed  great  anxiety 
to  know  whether  Rockingham  was  "  clear  of  Mr 
Conway  and  all  connections  with  the  present  adminis- 
tration." Albemarle  was,  naturally,  unable  to  give 
a  final  answer  to  such  a  query,  and  could  only  say 
that  he  hoped  Rockingham  was  free  from  such  en- 
tanglements ;  but  to  Newcastle  he  confided  that  it 
would  be  "  very  necessary  to  have  that  point  thoroughly 
known  before  any  steps  can  be  taken  towards  a  re- 
newal of  the  negotiation  with  the  Duke  of  Bedford 
and  his  friends."  4 

Necessary  it  might  be  ;  but  some  time  was  to 
elapse  before  Rockingham  clearly  showed  his  followers 
what  line  he  intended  to  take.     A  few  days  after  his 


1  Add.  MS.,  32984,  f.  36. 

3  Add.,  MS.,  32984,  f.  8.,  f.  10. 

II 


2  Add.  MS.,  32984,  f.  14. 
*  Add.  MS.,  32984,  f.  356. 


178     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

interview  with  the  king,  he  politely  informed  Newcastle 
that  he  was  desirous  of  keeping  up  a  good  understanding 
with  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  though  he  was  unwilling 
to  be  "  too  courting  "  ;  1  but  such  a  declaration  was 
capable  of  very  different  interpretations,  and,  at  the 
end  of  August,  Newcastle  was  alarmed  to  learn  that 
Burke,  whose  influence  over  Rockingham  was  notorious, 
was  not  in  favour  of  breaking  off  all  relations  with 
Conway.2  Convinced  that  no  greater  catastrophe 
could  befall  his  party  than  to  lose  touch  with  the 
Bedfords,  and  that  this  dire  event  would  surely  happen 
unless  it  was  clearly  demonstrated  that  Conway 
was  no  longer  the  protege  of  the  Rockingham  whigs, 
Newcastle,  without  delay,  dispatched  a  letter  to 
the  marquis,  inquiring  about  plans  for  the  future.3 
About  a  month  elapsed  before  Rockingham,  who  was 
a  dilatory  correspondent,  replied ;  and  Newcastle 
occupied  the  interval  in  picking  up  intelligence  from 
different  quarters,  endeavouring  to  smooth  away 
difficulties,  and  complaining  not  a  little  of  his  treat- 
ment by  certain  members  of  the  party.  Meeting 
Bedford  at  dinner  at  Gunnersbury  House,  he  was 
delighted  to  find  the  duke  "  cool,  dispassionate, 
and    reasonable/'    anxious    for    a    union    with    the 

1  Add.  MS.,  32984,  f.  49. 

2  "  I  long  to  have  the  honor,"  wrote  Newcastle  to  Lord  Albemarle  on 
August  29th,  "  of  seeing  your  lordship  to  acquaint  you  with  a  very  long  con- 
versation that  I  have  had  this  morning  with  Mr  Bourke,  I  am  sorry  to  say 
as  totally  different  from  my  sentiments,  and  what  I  apprehend  also  to  be  your 
lordship's,  as  is  possible.  He  thinks  my  Lord  Rockingham's  honor  con- 
cerned in  not  dropping  Mr  Conway,  as  he  calls  it,  or  suffering  him  to  go  out  to 
the  army.  ...  I  despair,  as  it  is  so,  to  find  things  mend  much  at  Wentworth, 
for,  if  my  Lord  Rockingham  was  in  honor  obliged  to  support  Mr  Conway 
in  the  manner  he  did,  I  should  apprehend  that  his  lordship  will  continue  to 
do  the  same,  tho'  indeed  Mr  Bourke  did  make  a  distinction  between  that 
time  and  the  present  time."     Add.  MS.,  32984,  f.  358. 

3  No  copy  of  Newcastle's  letter  has  apparently  survived,  but  its  general 
drift  can  be  gathered  from  Add.  MS.,  32985,  f.  306,  f.  406  ;  Burke's  Corre- 
spondence, 1,  144. 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION    179 

Rockinghams,  but  still  as  determined  as  ever  that 
Conway  should  not  be  secretary  of  state  or  leader 
of  the  house  of  commons.1  A  few  days  later, 
however,  Newcastle  was  in  the  depths  of  despair 
over  the  conduct  of  Lord  Frederick  and  Lord  John 
Cavendish,  who  were  opposed  to  any  union  with  the 
Bedfords ;  and  still  more  chagrined  when  he  learned 
that  Rockingham  had  definitely  declared  that  he 
would  have  nothing  more  to  do  with  Grenville.  "  If 
so,"  cried  Newcastle  in  his  sorrow,  "it  is  vain  for 
his  lordship  to  think  of  an  union  with  the  Duke  of 
Bedford."  2 

While  Newcastle  was  thus  alternately  rejoicing  and 
despairing,  Rockingham,  withdrawn  into  the  country, 
was  thinking  over  a  plan  for  his  future  conduct.  He 
informed  the  Duke  of  Portland  that,  as  the  policy 
of  the  party  in  the  past  had  always  been  directed 
towards  restraining  the  influence  of  Lord  Bute, 
and  preventing  Grenville  from  acquiring  supremacy 
in  the  state,  he  believed  that  those  principles  should 
dictate  their  actions,  in  the  future  ;    and  he  confided 

1  "  I  dined  yesterday  at  Gunnersbury  with  the  Duke  and  Dutchess  of 
Bedford,  and  my  Lord  and  Lady  Waldegrave  ;  and  when  her  royal  highness 
and  when  the  ladys  were  retired,  I  had  a  great  deal  of  very  material  conversa- 
tion with  the  Duke  of  Bedford  upon  the  present  situation.  I  found  his 
grace  in  the  very  disposition  that  I,  and  every  true  friend  to  this  country,  could 
wish.  Cool,  dispassionate,  and  reasonable  upon  every  point.  Expressing 
the  same  ardent  zeal  for  a  most  thorough  union  and  friendship  with  my  Lord 
Rockingham  and  all  our  friends  :  talking  in  the  most  proper  manner  upon 
the  subject  of  George  Grenville,  and  instead  of  imagining  that  Mr  Grenville 
intended  or  wished  to  break  off  the  negotiation  with  Lord  Rockingham, 
mentioned  some  circumstances  to  me  that  shewed  that  George  Grenville  was 
determined  to  acquiesce,  even  tho'  Lord  Temple  should  not  so  easily  come 
into  it  as  he  did.  In  short,  the  simple  point  is  Mr  Conway."  Add.  MS.,  32985, 
f.  13. 

2  Add.  MS.,  32985,  f.  88.  On  September  19th,  Lord  Frederick  Cavendish, 
writing  to  Newcastle  to  excuse  himself  for  not  having  called  at  Claremont  on 
his  way  to  Goodwood,  remarked  :  "I  am  afraid  my  excuse  will  be  worse  than 
my  fault.  I  went  with  Mr  Secretary  Conway,  and  returned  with  him,  and,  so 
circumstanced,  I  fancy  your  grace  will  not  think  I  judged  much  amiss  not 
to  call."     Add.  MS.,  32985,  f.  136. 


180     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

to  Lord  Frederick  Cavendish  that  "  the  thing  he  wished 
was  an  union  with  Bedford  House,  not  totally  exclusive 
of  our  old  friends ;  but  if  that  could  be  attained  by  no 
other  means  than  by  making  Mr  Grenville  the  minister, 
he  would  never  subscribe  to  it,  and  in  that  case  he 
should  stay  all  the  winter  in  the  country  and  mind 
his  farming,  which  was  much  better  funn  "  (sic).1 
Yet,  though  determined  that  Grenville  should  not  be 
"  the  minister,"  which  may  be  taken  to  mean  that 
he  should  neither  occupy  the  treasury  nor  lead  in 
the  house  of  commons,  Rockingham  was,  apparently, 
willing  to  allow  him  a  place  in  the  cabinet,  and  even 
to  abandon  Conway.2  Grenville  was  not  to  be  pro- 
scribed, but  it  was  clearly  intended  that  he  should 
not  control ;  and  this  resolution  was  reiterated  by 
Rockingham  when,  on  his  arrival  in  London  at  the 
beginning  of  October,  he  penned  the  long-delayed 
reply  to  Newcastle's  letter.  "  I  came  to  town,"  he 
wrote  to  the   duke,  "  about   nine   o'clock,  and   have 

1  Add.  MS.,  32985,  f.  136  ;    Rockingham  Memoirs,  2,  57. 

2  "  Let  us  see,"  wrote  Portland  to  Newcastle  on  October  20th,  "  whether 
the  mischief  can  be  remedied,  and  whether  such  an  union  can  be  formed  as 
may  be  able  to  withstand  the  influence  of  Lord  Bute,  and  restore  peace, 
stability,  and  dignity,  to  government.  For  the  effecting  which  desirable 
purpose,  I  think  nothing  can  be  more  conducive  than  the  plan  laid  down  by 
your  grace  in  the  end  of  your  letter  of  August  7th,  viz.,  '  That  Lord  Rocking- 
ham should  give  the  Duke  of  Bedford  to  understand  at  a  proper  time  that  he 
desists  from  his  proposal  relating  to  Mr  Conway,  and  that  he  should  talk  over, 
coolly  and  dispassionately,  the  affair  of  George  Grenville  with  the  Duke  of 
Bedford  only.'  'Tis  that  conversation,  that  kind  of  conversation,  that  I  wish, 
and  recommended  strongly  to  the  marquis  the  morning  I  went  over  to  him  at 
Wentworth,  where  I  found  him  in  the  very  disposition  your  grace  and  his 
real  friends  could  have  desired.  Conway  was  given  up  by  everybody,  fully 
and  explicitly,  except  Lord  John  Cavendish,  who  was  silent.  A  desire  for 
union,  nay,  even  the  necessity  of  union,  was  as  strongly  urged  .  .  .  and,  in 
short,  every  preliminary  agreed  to  that  might  engage  the  Duke  of  Bedford 
and  his  friends,  and  prove  to  them  our  wishes  of  uniting  and  becoming  a 
corps.  A  considerable  employment  was  talked  of  for  George  Grenville,  and 
I  rather  think  Lord  Rockingham  himself  mentioned,  and  certainly  acquiesced 
in,  the  idea  of  the  cabinet  for  Mr  Grenville  with  or  without  office."  Add.  MS., 
32986,  f.  58. 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION    181 

been  with  Lord  Albemarle,  who  I  found  looking  as  well 
or  indeed  much  better  than  I  expected.  I  much  wish 
for  a  long  and  full  conversation  with  your  grace,  and 
I  shall  then  go  through  the  letter  I  had  the  honour  to 
receive  from  your  grace,  which  has  given  me  much 
concern,  because  I  differ  almost  throughout,  not  only 
on  the  manner  of  stating  things  which  have  passed, 
but  also  upon  the  reasonings  and  arguments  drawn  from 
them.  I  hope  to  be  able  to  convince  your  grace  that 
I  am  not  wrong  in  differing  from  many  parts  of  the 
contents  of  that  letter,  and  I  shall  try  and  do  it  with 
calmness,  tho'  I  confess  I  felt  some  warmths  at  parts 
when  I  first  read  them,  because  I  thought  them  injurious. 
In  regard  to  what  is  now  to  be  done,  I  should  think 
the  first  step  among  ourselves  is  to  fix  firmly  in  our 
minds  what  were,  and  what  I  hope  and  trust  are,  the 
fundamental  principles  on  which  we  have  acted.  I 
must  beg  to  lay  stress  upon  principles  in  the  plural 
number,  because  I  think  the  publick  are  very  near 
equally  interested  in  our  adherence  to  the  same  line 
of  conduct  which  we  have  always  held  against  the 
power  of  Lord  Bute,  and  also  in  the  prevention  of 
the  return  of  power  into  the  hands  of  one  who, 
when  minister,  had  his  measures  opposed  by 
us,  and,  when  we  were  ministers,  whose  measures 
were  corrected  much  to  the  publick  security  and 
advantage."  1 

Whatever  may  be  urged  against  the  attitude  adopted 
by  Rockingham,  it  was  at  least  rational  and  consistent  ; 
he  had  thought  over  the  situation,  and,  seemingly, 
arrived  at  a  definite  conclusion.  Essential  as  the 
assistance  of  the  Bedford  party  might  be,  he  was 
determined  never  to  purchase  it  by  giving  the  treasury 
to  George  Grenville.     To  do  this  would  be  publicly 

1  Add.  MS.,  32985.,  f.  306. 


182     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

to  deny  all  that  he  had  fought  for  in  the  past,  to 
abandon  his  principles  for  the  sake  of  power.  Nor, 
indeed,  did  Newcastle  desire  him  to  make  such  a 
sacrifice  ;  and  the  anxiety  of  the  duke  was  caused, 
not  by  the  opinions  which  Rockingham  professed,  but 
by  the  fear  of  what  he  might  actually  do.  That 
Rockingham  cherished  something  approaching  to  a 
personal  dislike  of  Grenville  seemed  undoubted  ;  and 
it  was  impossible  to  foretell  how  far  that  dislike  would 
carry  him.  When  he  paid  his  promised  visit  to 
Newcastle,  he  took  strong  objection  to  a  passage  in  the 
duke's  letter,  which  referred  to  Grenville's  acquiescence 
in  a  coalition  between  the  Bedfords  and  the  Rockingham 
whigs,  roundly  declaring  that  "  Mr  Grenville's  acqui- 
escence was  not  his  object,  or  even  what  he  wished."  * 
Such  utterances  as  these  made  the  old  duke  almost 
despair  of  ever  bringing  about  that  alliance  with  the 
Bedford  party,  upon  which  he  set  so  great  a  store ; 
nor  was  he  any  happier  about  his  leader's  relations 
with  Conway.  He  had,  indeed,  been  told  by  the  Duke 
of  Portland  that  Rockingham  was  prepared  to  abandon 
Conway,  but  he  feared  that,  when  the  occasion  arose, 
the  threat  would  never  be  executed.  "  Mr  Conway 
has  winning  ways  with  him,"  he  reflected,  "  and  strong 
hold  of  our  friends,  the  Cavendishes  "  ; 2  and  it  might 
well  happen  that  Rockingham's  antagonism  to  Grenville 
would  drive  him  to  adhere  to  Conway,  in  spite  of 
what  that  fidelity  had  cost  him  in  the  past.  If  such, 
indeed,  proved  to  be  the  case,  slender  was  the  hope 
of  a  united  opposition  facing  the  government  when 
parliament  met  in  November  ;  and  Newcastle  had 
gloomy  forebodings  as  to  what  the  future  might  bring 
forth.3 

Yet,   continuing   to  hope   against  hope,  he  never 

1  Add.  MS.,  32985,  f.  406.  2  Add.  MS.,  32985,  f.  458.  3  Ibid. 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION    183 

relaxed  his  efforts  to  secure  success.  He  was  re- 
joiced to  hear  from  Lord  Albemarle,  who  was  a  visitor 
at  Woburn,  that  the  Duke  of  Bedford  was  as  warm 
as  ever  in  favour  of  an  alliance  with  Rockingham, 
if  only  the  marquis  could  overcome  his  unfortunate 
partiality  for  Conway ;  1  and  from  Lord  Mansfield 
he  learnt  that  "  the  Duke  of  Bedford  .  .  .  was 
very  civil,  personally,  in  everything  he  said  of  Lord 
Rockingham." 2  Rigby,  moreover,  who  dined  with 
Newcastle  on  Sunday,  October  nth,  "  talked  very 
well,  his  sole  point  is  now  opposition  to  the  present 
ministers,"  3  and  all  this  intelligence  Newcastle  passed 
on  at  different  times  to  Rockingham.4  And,  as  the  day 
for  the  meeting  of  parliament  drew  near,  his  activity 
increased.  Admiral  Keppel  was  sent  to  Woburn  to 
learn  what  Bedford  intended  to  do,  so  that  Rockingham, 
who  had  again  retreated  into  the  country,  might 
be  furnished,  on  his  return  to  London  for  the  session, 
with  the  latest  information  ;  and  Keppel  reported  that 
Bedford,  though  now  almost  blind,  was  coming  to 
London  on  Friday,  November  20th,  eager  for  the 
parliamentary    fray,    "  very    hostile    to    the    present 


1  Add.  MS.,  32985,  f.  35S,  f.  360.  2  Add.  MS.,  32985,  f.  421. 

^  Add.  MS.,  32985,  f.  453. 

4  On  one  material  point,  however,  Newcastle  maintained  a  significant 
silence.  In  conversation  with  Lord  Albemarle,  Bedford  had  remarked  "  that 
the  treasury  was  the  great  and  material  object  .  .  .  which  should  be  deter- 
mined by  the  king."  In  his  reply  to  Albemarle,  Newcastle  argued  that  by  this 
remark  Bedford  meant  nothing  more  "  than  he  did  originally,  that  the  king 
having  decided  for  Lord  Rockingham,  that  was  a  reason  for  Mr  Grenville  and 
them  to  acquiesce."  This  interpretation,  however,  was  far  too  favourable, 
and  when  Rigby  dined  with  Newcastle  on  October  nth,  he  told  the  duke 
"  that  the  Duke  of  Bedford's  leaving  the  treasury  to  the  king's  decision  did 
mean  (as  I  imagined  it  did)  that  if  the  king  should  name  Mr  Grenville  .  .  . 
that  my  Lord  Rockingham  should  acquiesce  and  support  in  the  same  manner 
that  Mr  Grenville  and  his  friends  should  support  my  Lord  Rockingham  if 
he  should  be  named."  It  was  this  by  no  means  unimportant  gloss  upon 
Bedford's  words  that  Newcastle  concealed  from  Rockingham.  Add.  MS., 
32985,  f.  358,  f.  360  ;   Add.  MS.,  32986,  f.  1. 


184     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

administration,  and  hopes  to  find  our  friends  in  the 
same  disposition."  x 

Bedford,  Newcastle,  and  others  might  lust  for  the 
battle  to  begin,  but  it  was  clear  beyond  all  possible 
doubt  that,  unless  the  opposition  agreed  upon  a  con- 
certed plan,  victory  would  fall  to  the  ministry.  Though 
Northington,  in  his  cups,  might  talk  gloomily  of  the 
prospects  of  the  administration,2  Grafton  was  reported 
to  be  counting  upon  a  larger  ministerial  majority 
in  the  upper  house  than  he  had  been  accustomed  to 
during  the  previous  session  ;  3  and  it  was  no  small 
gain  to  the  cabinet  that  it  no  longer  stood  in  fear 
of  Charles  Townshend.  That  restless  and  perturbed 
spirit  had  ceased  to  disturb  the  politics  of  his  age. 
For  a  brief  season  he  had  blazed  like  a  comet  in  the 
political  heavens  ;  and  it  was  when  he  appeared  to 
be  at  the  very  height  of  his  power  that  death  summoned 
him  to  leave  the  arena  of  party  strife.  He  died, 
early  in  September,  of  an  inflammation  of  the  bowels  ; 

1  Add.  MS.,  32986,  f.  391  ;  Add.  MS.,  32987,  f.  37.  Newcastle's  idea  of  the 
proper  conduct  of  opposition  is  worth  noting.  "  I  am  persuaded,"  he  informed 
Keppel,  "  that  neither  the  Duke  of  Bedford  nor  Lord  Rockingham  would 
think  of  giving  opposition  upon  points  that  would  not  bear  it.  That  would 
be  only  to  expose  us  to  the  nation,  and  give  handles  against  us  at  the  next 
election.  Our  plan,  in  my  humble  opinion,  both  in  and  out  of  parliament, 
ought  to  be  that  which  may  best  carry  the  publick  with  us,  and,  consequently, 
be  the  more  likely  to  be  of  service  to  our  friends  in  the  choice  of  the  next 
parliament,  for  there  must  ultimately  end  all  our  endeavours.  It  is  from  the 
next  parliament  that  this  country  must  be  saved,  and  the  cause  of  those,  who 
wish  it  best,  supported."     Add.  MS.,  32986,  f.  391. 

2  "  I  heard  a  few  days  ago,"  wrote  Sir  Matthew  Fetherstone  to  Newcastle, 
"by  a  gentleman  who  dined  at  Lord  Northington' s  in  Hampshire,  that  his 
lordship  got  extremely  drunk,  and  in  his  cups  said  many  things  he  ought  not. 
That  everything  was  tending  to  confusion,  that  this  was  an  age  of  the  utmost 
profligacy  and  corruption,  that  his  M — y  was  a  much  honester  man  than  his 
whole  Pr — y  C — 1  put  together  ;  and  that  the  present  adm — n  had  made  no 
acquisition  of  strength  since  last  session  ;  all  of  which  was  affirmed  with  a 
volume  of  oaths."     Add.  MS.,  32986,  f.  311. 

3  "  I  hear,"  wrote  Newcastle  to  the  Princess  Amelia,  "  the  Duke  of  Grafton 
says  they  shall  carry  it  in  the  house  of  lords  by  a  majority  of  forty.  In  that 
I  believe  his  grace  is  mistaken.  He  does  not  reckon,  I  suppose,  the  bishops, 
where  we  have  a  chance  of  sixteeh  to  ten."     Add.  MS.,  32986,  f.  243. 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION    185 

and  those  whom  he  had  opposed,  even  those  whom 
he  had  deceived,  spoke  kindly  words  of  him,  now 
that  he  was  no  longer  to  astonish  them  by  his  brilliance, 
and  amuse  them  by  his  wit.  When  Newcastle  heard 
of  the  event,  he  remarked  that  the  dead  statesman, 
with  all  his  faults,  "  was  very  good-natured  and  very 
entertaining  "  ;  1  and  it  may  be  surmised  that  such 
an  epitaph  would  have  been  approved  by  Townshend 
himself.  Yet  these  attributes,  enviable  and  attractive 
as  they  are,  do  not  constitute  all  that  is  expected  of 
a  chancellor  of  the  exchequer,  and  in  Townshend 
they  were  mingled  with  much  that  rendered  him  unfit 
either  to  rule  or  to  serve.  His  loss  was  an  undisguised 
boon  to  his  colleagues  who  had  suffered  more  from 
the  evil  than  benefited  by  the  good  in  his  composition  ; 
and  the  new  chancellor  of  the  exchequer,  Lord  North, 
who  only  accepted  the  office  after  some  hesitation,2 
was  likely  to  be  far  more  serviceable  both  in  parliament 
and  in  the  cabinet.  Possessed,  like  Townshend,  of 
a  happy  wit,  and  endowed  with  a  temper  so  sweet 
that  it  was  wellnigh  impossible  to  make  him  angry, 
North  was  of  a  pliant  disposition,  ready  to  yield  to 
pressure,  and  averse  to  giving  pain.  This  lack  of 
resolution  in  his  character  was  destined,  at  a  later  date, 
to  work  dire  mischief  to  his  country  and  himself  ; 
but  it  was  of  less  moment  as  long  as  he  remained  a 
subordinate  member  of  the  cabinet ;  and,  though  many 

1  Add.  MS.,  32985,  f.  31.  During  Townshend's  life-time,  Lord  Bucking- 
hamshire remarked  of  him  that  "  he  often  puts  his  parts  in  motion,  but  never 
stays  long  enough  to  give  them  a  consistency.  What  genius,  what  imagina- 
tion, what  knowledge,  what  abilities,  what  occasionally  exquisite  feelings  : 
how  greatly  the  first  are  misused,  how  soon  he  forgets  the  last."  Add.  MS., 
22359,  f.  4. 

2  Grafton's  Autobiography,  pp.  166,  167  ;  Add.  MS.,  32985,  f.  53  ;  Grenville 
Papers,  4,  167.  Writing  on  September  22nd,  Newcastle  remarks  :  "  I  have 
heard  of  the  terms  to  be  given  to  Lord  North,  a  reversion  of  his  father's  pension 
when  he  comes  to  be  Earl  of  Guilford,  with  an  estate  of  12  or  14,000^  per 
ann.     My  God  !  where  will  this  end  ?  "     Add.  MS.,  32985,  f.  190. 


186     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

were  his  defects  as  a  politician  and  statesman,  he 
could  at  least  never  be  the  occasion  of  discord  and 
strife  that  his  predecessor  had  been. 

So,  whatever  were  the  prospects  of  the  opposition, 
the  ministry  was  not  ill  prepared  for  the  conflict 
which  would  begin  on  November  24th,  the  day  on 
which  parliament  was  summoned  to  meet.  Yet,  on 
the  very  eve  of  the  encounter,  no  one  could  predict 
its  course  ;  for  not  a  little  depended  upon  the  action 
of  the  three  opposition  leaders.  One  may  be  sure 
that  gossip  was  rife,  some  saying  that  the  opposition 
parties  would  settle  their  differences  before  they 
entered  upon  the  battle,  others  that  the  ministers 
would  easily  carry  the  day  against  men  who  differed 
too  fundamentally  ever  to  unite  even  in  attacking 
a  government  which  they  all  hated  ;  but  no  one,  not 
even  the  leaders  themselves,  knew  for  certain  the 
exact  turn  events  would  take.  Bedford  had  pro- 
claimed that  he  intended  to  continue  the  onslaught 
upon  the  government ;  and  Rockingham,  when  he 
arrived  in  town  on  November  21st,  announced  the 
same  policy  for  himself  and  his  party.1  In  these 
circumstances  common  prudence  would  have  suggested 
a  meeting  between  Bedford  and  Rockingham  to  agree 
upon  a  plan  of  campaign  against  the  court  ;  and  for 
such  an  interview  Rockingham  was  quite  prepared.2 
It  is  probable  that  Bedford  was  the  unwilling  party. 
An  eminent  French  historian  has  told  us  that  "  politics 
are  a  conflict  of  which  chance  is  incessantly  modifying 
the  whole  course  "  ;  and  the  truth  of  this  saying  is 
amply  proved  by  the  events  of  the  four  days  preceding 
the  meeting  of  parliament.  When  Bedford  came  to 
London  on  November  20th,  he  had  been  quite  pre- 

1  Add.  MS.,  32987,  f.  75  \   Add.  MS.,  35430,  f.  87. 

2  Add.  MS.,  32987,  f.  75. 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION    18? 

pared  to  co-operate  with  Lord  Rockingham,  if  they 
were  able  to  come  to  a  friendly  understanding  on 
questions  where  they  differed  ;  but,  soon  after  his 
arrival,  he  heard  that  Rockingham  had  told  the 
Duke  of  Bridgewater  that  he  would  never  sit  in  a 
cabinet  in  which  a  Grenville  had  a  place.  Bedford 
may  well  be  excused  if  he  gave  way  to  anger  on  learn- 
ing this  information.  It  was  the  first  time  that  he  had 
been  informed  that  Rockingham  intended  to  proscribe 
the  Grenville  party  in  this  fashion  ;  and  he  must 
have  concluded  that  he  had  been  grossly  deceived 
by  Newcastle  and  Albemarle,  who  had,  apparently, 
so  sedulously  concealed  their  leader's  intention  from 
him.  No  time  was  lost  in  handing  on  the  information 
to  George  Grenville  who  was  told  on  the  evening 
of  November  23rd.1 

On  the  following  day  parliament  met.  As  though 
anticipating  what  was  to  follow,  the  king,  in  the  speech 
from  the  throne,  was  made  to  advise  the  members 
of  both  houses  to  cultivate  a  spirit  of  harmony  and 
concord  ;  and  never  was  advice  so  much  needed  or 
so  flagrantly  disregarded.  George  Grenville,  having 
brooded  over  what  he  had  been  told  the  night  before, 
had  come  down  to  the  house  with  hatred  in  his 
heart  against  Lord  Rockingham  and  his  supporters, 
and  determined  publicly  to  repudiate  the  men  who 
had,  as  he  thought,  secretly  repudiated  him.  After 
Dowdeswell  had  spoken  in  the  debate  on  the  address 
of  thanks,  "  confining  himself  to  the  exact  line  on 
North  American  affairs,  which  had  been  approved  of 
by  those  who  met  at  your  grace's  on  the  memorable 
Tuesday  night,"  2  George  Grenville  rose  and  delivered 
his  soul.     He  informed  the  house  that  he  was  more 

1  Grenville  Papers,  4,  234  ;   Phillimore's  Lyttelton,  2,  734. 

2  July  21st. 


188    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

convinced  than  ever  of  the  necessity  of  enforcing 
the  authority  of  the  mother  country  over  the  colonies, 
that  he  was  astonished  that  any  man,  and  much  more 
that  a  member  of  parliament,  should  hold  and  publish 
such  sentiments  as  Dowdeswell  had  expressed,  that 
he  would  never  unite,  either  in  opposition  or  in  power, 
with  men  who  held  such  opinions  ;  but,  on  the  contrary, 
would  keep  "  the  same  distance  from  them  that  he 
would  from  those  who  opposed  the  principles  of  the 
Revolution."  * 

While  these  defiant  words  were  issuing  from  Gren- 
ville's  mouth,  the  Rockingham  whigs  sat  aghast, 
outraged,  and  dismayed  ;  and  Grenville  was  not  the 
only  occasion  of  their  anger.  They  were  equally 
disgusted  with  the  followers  of  the  Duke  of  Bedford, 
none  of  whom  spoke-  a  word  on  behalf  of  the  party 
thus  so  grossly  insulted,  and,  indeed,  by  their  silence 
appeared  to  acquiesce  in  all  that  had  been  said. 
Rockingham  was,  not  unnaturally,  deeply  chagrined 
when  he  heard  what  had  happened,  and,  in  the  very 
early  hours  of  the  morning  following  the  debate, 
wrote  an  indignant  letter  to  the  Duke  of  Newcastle. 
"  It  is  no  comfort  to  me,"  he  bitterly  remarked, 
"  to  have  had  this  full  proof  that  my  ideas  had  not 
been  ill-founded  for  some  time  past ;  and  I  well  see 
the  confusions  which  may  arise.  I  am  happy  to  have 
acted  with  the  greatest  sincerity  and  fullest  honour 
towards  the  Duke  of  Bedford  and  his  friends.  If  our 
friends  should  now  think  right  to  call  for  a  most  full 
and  explicit  declaration  and  explanation  from  the  Duke 
of  Bedford's  friends,  it  must  produce  either  a  thorough 
and  fixed  cordiality  or  will  have  the  contrary  effect." 2 

1  Add.  MS.,  32987,  f.  87,  f.  113  ;  Walpole's  Memoirs,  3,  81  ff  ;  Parliamentary 
History,  xvi.  379  ff. 

a  Add.  MS.,  32987,  f.  87, 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION    189 

The  anger  of  the  leader  was  shared  by  the  majority 
of  the  followers,  but  mere  anger  would  not  obliterate 
the  wrong  which  had  been  inflicted.  A  reconciliation 
with  Grenville  was  clearly  out  of  the  question,  for  he 
had  sinned  too  deeply  to  hope  for  forgiveness,  even  if 
he  had  desired  it  ;  but  it  was  possible  that  a  breach 
with  the  Bedfords  might  be  avoided.  They  lay 
under  the  dark  suspicion  of  having  given  a  silent 
approval  to  Grenville's  bitter  denunciation  ;  and 
Newcastle  was  instructed  by  his  Darty  to  demand 
of  the  Duke  of  Bedford  a  full  and  satisfactory  ex- 
planation of  such  doubtful  conduct.  No  envoy  could 
have  been  chosen  more  convinced  that  no  greater  evil 
could  befall  the  Rockingham  whigs  than  a  rupture 
with  the  Bedford  party  ;  and,  before  Newcastle  de- 
parted on  his  errand,  he  was  significantly  warned  by 
Rockingham  that  it  would  be  far  better  to  have 
"  a  firm  and  decisive  issue  to  this  affair  than  a  super- 
ficial healing  which  may  only  entangle  and  deceive."  1 
Newcastle  discovered  that  this  opinion  was  shared  by 
Bedford  who  argued  that,  as  Grenville  had  been 
provoked  to  make  such  a  declaration  by  learning 
what  Rockingham  was  reported  to  have  said  to  the 
Duke  of  Bridgewater,  he  could  not  be  called  to  task 
for  his  conduct,  until  Rockingham  had  given  a  satis- 
factory explanation  of  the  remark  attributed  to  him.2 
Such  an  explanation  Rockingham  was  not  prepared 
to  give.  "  Upon  the  whole  state  of  what  has  passed," 
he  wrote,  on  learning  from  Newcastle  what  Bedford 
had  asked,  "  I  cannot  but  see  the  improbability  of 
that  junction  between  the  Duke  of  Bedford's  friends 
and  ours,  which  we  have  so  long  wished,  and  to  attain 
which  we  have  taken  such  pains  and  acted  so  fairly. 
Mr  G.  Grenville  has  succeeded  fully  in  his  object  of 

1  Add.  MS.,  32987,  f.  109,  f.  in,  f.  125.  2  Add.  MS.,  32987,  f.  123. 


190     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

dividing  us  and  them.  Indeed,  the  apology  he  makes 
by  saying  that  his  conduct  arose  from  warmth  which 
he  felt  on  supposed  words  of  mine  is,  as  your  grace 
well  observed,  but  a  flimsy  argument,  as  that  could 
not  justify  him  in  making  an  absolute  rejection  of  all 
the  great  and  considerable  persons  with  whom  I 
have  acted,  and  particularly  fixing  his  objection  to 
them  in  their  having  supported  systems  and  principles 
in  which  they  still  express  themselves  as  determined 
upon  as  he  can  upon  his  contrary  and  opposite  system." 1 
Thus,  Rockingham  decided  to  refuse  the  explanation 
demanded,  and  consequently  doomed  himself  and  his 
party  to  political  isolation.  All  the  strivings  of 
Newcastle  were  rendered  useless  ;  and  the  old  duke 
was  not  slow  to  recognise  that  his  labours  had  been 
in  vain.  "  I  am  sorry  to  find  by  your  lordship's  letter," 
he  wrote  in  reply  to  Rockingham,  "  that  all  further 
negotiation  or  concert  with  the  Duke  of  Bedford  is 
now  over.  I  had  before  determined  that  I  would 
be  desired  to  be  excused,  and  have  nothing  more  to 
do  in  it.  I  shall  send  an  answer  to  his  grace,  that  I 
had  made  a  faithful  report  of  what  had  passed,  and 
have  nothing  to  trouble  his  grace  with  upon  it,  and 
desire  to  have  no  further  concern  in  it,  since  I  see  no 
prospect  of  being  able  to  do  any  good."  2 

Seldom  has  there  been  a  more  effective  "  curtain  " 
in  the  drama  of  party  politics.  Until  this  time  an 
alliance  between  the  Bedford  and  Rockingham  camps 
had  always  been  within  the  range  of  possibility  ;  and 
now,  by  what  might  appear  to  be  a  freak  of  fortune, 
the  Rockingham  whigs  were  once  more  cast  adrift, 
and  forced  to  depend,  in  their  contest  with  the  ministry, 
upon  their  own  meagre  parliamentary  strength.  That 
it  was  their  leader  who  was  responsible  for  driving 

1  Add.  MS.,  32987,  f.  119.  *  Add.  MS.,  32987,  f.  133. 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION    191 

them  into  a  situation,  seemingly  so  unenviable,  can- 
not be  denied  ;  yet  it  should  not  be  lightly  assumed 
that  he  acted  wrongly.  His  refusal  to  comply  with 
Bedford's  demand  for  an  explanation  does  not  prove 
that  he  was  guilty  of  having  made  the  remark  attri- 
buted to  him  by  the  Duke  of  Bridgewater.  It  may 
well  be  that  Rockingham  conceived  that  the  time  had 
come  definitely  to  repudiate  Grenville,  and  to  com- 
pel Bedford  to  choose  between  that  statesman  and 
himself.  Most  will  agree  in  thinking  that  it  is  better 
to  know  the  worst  than  to  live  in  daily  expectation 
of  a  catastrophe  ;  and  Rockingham  elected  to  court 
misfortune  rather  than  continue  in  a  state  of  doubt. 
He  could  have  cherished  but  faint  hopes  that  Bedford, 
driven  to  make  a  decision,  would  reject  George 
Grenville's  friendship  in  favour  of  an  alliance  with 
the  Rockingham  whigs,  separated  as  he  was  from 
them  by  many  far-reaching  differences  of  opinion. 
Whenever  he  had  been  approached  during  the  past 
twelve  months,  Bedford  had  always  consistently 
refused  to  contemplate  a  union  which  did  not  in- 
clude Grenville  and  his  party  ;  and  there  was  no  reason 
why  he  should  abandon  this  policy.  Thus,  in  breaking 
with  Grenville,  Rockingham  destroyed,  once  and  for  all, 
the  hope  of  a  united  opposition. 

The  subsequent  conduct  of  the  Bedfords  amply 
proves  that  their  action  at  this  crisis  was  not  in- 
fluenced by  any  mistaken  idea  of  chivalrous  devotion 
to  a  friend ;  for,  having  suspended  relations  with 
Lord  Rockingham,  they  were  by  no  means  prepared 
to  link  their  fortunes  with  George  Grenville  in  what 
appeared  to  them  to  be  a  lost  cause.  Deprived  of 
Rockingham's  assistance  in  parliament,  they  would 
cut  but  a  poor  figure  in  the  contest  with  the  govern- 
ment  which   they   could   never   hope   to   drive   from 


192     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

power;  and  by  a  logical,  if  somewhat  unprincipled, 
train  of  reasoning,  they  were  brought  to  the  conclusion 
that  it  was  now  time  for  them  to  make  terms  with  the 
ministry.  Having  thrown  over  Rockingham  for  the 
sake  of  Grenville,  they  now  threw  over  Grenville  for 
the  sake  of  office.  Only  a  few  days  after  Newcastle's 
interview  with  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  they  made  their 
first  overtures  to  Grafton  who  eagerly  caught  at  such 
a  favourable  opportunity  of  strengthening  the  adminis- 
tration and  weakening  the  opposition  ;  and  by  the 
middle  of  December  terms  had  been  agreed  upon. 
It  was  arranged  that  Lord  Gower  should  be  president 
of  the  council  in  place  of  Northington  who  was  ready 
to  retire ;  that  Conway,  though  continuing  a  member 
of  the  cabinet,  should  resign  the  secretaryship  of  state 
in  favour  of  Lord  Weymouth  ;  and  that  Lord  Hills- 
borough should  be  created  secretary  of  state  for  the 
colonies  which  were  thus  transferred  from  the  southern 
department.1  Lord  Sandwich,  who  had  once  been 
secretary  of  state,  was  now  obliged  to  content  himself 
with  the  subordinate  position  of  postmaster  ; 2  and 
Rigby  succeeded  to  the  vice-treasurership  of  Ireland.3 
Thus,  the  alliance  was  concluded,  and  Grafton  could 
indeed  congratulate  himself  upon  his  achievement. 
He  had  taken  the  tide  of  fortune  at  the  flood  ;  and  had 
no  longer  reason  to  fear  the  parliamentary  opposition 
which  he  would  have  to  encounter  in  the  future. 
Secure  of  a  majority  in  both  houses,  he  could  safely 
defy    the    efforts    which    Grenville    or    Rockingham 

1  Lord  Shelburne,  the  secretary  of  state  for  the  southern  department, 
though  he  acquiesced  in  this  arrangement,  did  not  certainly  approve  it. 
Chatham  Correspondence,  3,  300. 

2  The  king  was  reported  to  have  refused  to  make  Sandwich  a  secretary  of 
state,  on  the  ground  that  he  would  "  make  no  more  sweeps  as  he  has  done." 
Add.  MS.,  32987,  f.  315.  For  evidence  that  Sandwich  was  discontented,  see 
Add.  MS.,  32987,  f-  397- 

3  For  a  detailed  account  of  this  negotiation,  see  Walpole's  Memoirs,  3,  84  ff. 


THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION    193 

might  make  to  unseat  him,  able  as  he  now  was  to 
count  with  confidence  upon  the  combined  support  of 
the  crown  and  parliament.  Nor,  indeed,  had  Bedford 
cause  to  regret  the  bargain  that  he  had  concluded. 
Old  and  almost  blind,  he  had  not  sought  office  for  him- 
self, but  he  had  safely  established  his  followers  in 
power  ;  and  whatever  may  be  thought  of  the  morality 
of  his  action,  its  wisdom  was  undoubted.  Neither  he 
nor  his  followers  were  men  to  lose  their  lives  in  a 
doomed  cause  ;  and  it  needed  no  great  political 
experience  to  understand  that  the  opposition  was 
doomed,  sentence  of  death  having  been  passed  upon  it 
at  the  meeting  between  Bedford  and  Newcastle  on 
November  25th.  Dull  and  stagnant  were  the  debates 
in  parliament,  and  quite  early  in  December  many 
members,  weary  of  watching  the  ministers  carry 
everything  before  them,  began  to  leave  town.1  On 
December  5th,  Lord  Lyttelton  reported  that  all  opposi- 
tion was  at  an  end,2  and  the  same  tale  was  told  by 
George  Onslow  who  informed  Newcastle  that  "  our 
house  is  the  quietest,  place  in  the  world."  3  Con- 
vinced that  the  battle  was  over,  the  Bedfords  con- 
cluded that  the  best  thing  was  to  come  to  terms  with 
the  victorious  administration,  and  acted  in  accordance 
with  their  convictions. 

Thus,  Grafton  had  triumphed  over  the  forces  which 
at  one  time  threatened  to  overwhelm  him.  With  no 
little  courage  he  had  toiled  against  adversity,  and  had 
been  rewarded  for  his  perseverance.  It  now  remained 
to  be  seen  to  what  use  he  would  put  his  victory. 

1  "  The  number  of  people  gone  out  of  town,"  wrote  West  to  Newcastle, 
"is  so  great  that  the  seamen  were  voted  with  barely  forty  members  in  the 
house.  ...  Mr  Grenville  comes  down  alone,  and  never  communicates  with 
anyone.  Administration  seems  perfectly  easy,  and  opposition  perfectly 
indolent."     Add.  MS.,  32987,  f.  149. 

2  Add.  MS.,  32987,  f.  171.  3  Add.  MS.,  32987,  f.  218. 

N 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE   RESIGNATION   OF  CHATHAM 

The  admission  of  the  Bedford  party  into  the  administra- 
tion marks  the  beginning  of  a  new  chapter  in  Grafton's 
troubled  and  unfortunate  ministerial  career.  From 
the  time  that  Chatham  had  withdrawn  into  gloomy 
seclusion  at  Hampstead,  the  youthful  first  lord  of 
the  treasury  had  been  playing  the  game  of  politics 
with  the  dice  loaded  against  him.  Persuaded,  against 
his  own  inclination  and  better  knowledge,  to  accept 
a  responsibility  beyond  his  capacity,  he  had  been 
compelled  by  the  breakdown  in  Chatham's  health, 
which  he  could  not  have  foreseen,  to  take  command  ; 
and  can,  indeed,  claim  a  certain  measure  of  pity  as  the 
victim  of  a  malicious  destiny,  driving  him  where  he 
was  unwilling  to  go.  Nor  was  he  able  to  reflect  that 
his  audacity  had  been  rewarded  with  success.  Hard 
pressed  in  the  parliamentary  conflict,  especially  in 
the  upper  house,  unable  to  make  his  will  prevail 
in  a  cabinet  of  which  he  was  the  nominal  leader, 
driven  to  live,  politically,  from  hand  to  mouth,  and  the 
prey  of  men  stronger  than  himself,  he  had  every 
inducement  to  abandon  a  task  which  he  would  never 
have  undertaken,  had  he  thought  only  of  his  own 
happiness  and  good  fame  ;  and  if  he  continued  at 
the  post  of  danger,  facing  the  full  fury  of  the  battle, 
it  was  because  he  was  prepared  to  sacrifice  his  comfort 
and  reputation  to  his  affection  for  Chatham  and  his 

194 


THE  RESIGNATION  OF  CHATHAM  195 

loyalty  to  the  king.  Imbibing  the  constitutional 
doctrines  of  the  man  whom  he  had  chosen  as  his 
political  leader,  he  defended  the  royal  closet  against 
the  rush  of  factions  opposed  to  the  court ;  and,  failing 
in  much  else,  succeeded  in  accomplishing  this  part 
of  the  appointed  task.  At  the  cost  of  bringing  much 
evil  upon  the  country  and  himself,  he  successfully 
averted  the  threatened  union  of  the  enemies  of  the 
administration ;  and,  by  the  alliance  with  the  followers 
of  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  provided  the  government 
with  a  working  majority  in  both  houses  of  parliament.1 
But  it  is  typical  of  Grafton,  and  of  the  policy  of  helpless 
drift  which  he  pursued,  that  this  accession  of  parlia- 
mentary strength  was  purchased  by  the  sacrifice 
of  the  constitutional  principles  which  Chatham  had 
avowed  and  not  yet  repudiated.  With  the  entry 
of  the  Bedfords  into  the  government,  the  party  system 
came  to  its  own  once  more,  Grafton,  in  order  to  avoid 
shipwreck,  having  thrown  himself  into  the  arms  of 
one  of  the  very  political  factions  which  Chatham  had 
set  out  to  destroy.  It  was  in  vain  that  he  sought  to 
minimise  the  change  effected,  and  asserted  that  the 
terms  of  the  treaty  were  such  as  Chatham  could 
approve.2  The  surrender  was  far  too  complete  to 
admit  of  effective  disguise.  The  party  system  had 
triumphed  over  those  who  had  vowed  its  destruction ; 
and  the  Bedfords  joined  the  ministry,  not  as  isolated 
individuals  enlisting  under  a  new  banner,   but  as  a 

1  "  In  the  house  of  lords  this  accession  of  strength  was  essentially  felt  ; 
and  damped  every  expectation  which  the  other  parts  of  opposition  might 
have  formed  to  have  embarrassed  the  administration."  Grafton's  Auto- 
biography, p.  183. 

2  "  Besides,  the  conditions,  now  proposed  and  accepted,  were  short  of 
those  which  Lord  Chatham  would  have  agreed  to,  either  in  the  confer- 
ence he  had  himself  with  the  Duke  of  Bedford  in  December,  1766,  or 
in  that  I  had  with  Lord  Gower  in  June,  1767."  Grafton's  Autobiography, 
P-  173- 


196    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

political  organisation,  possessed  of  an  identity  of  its 
own.  Driven,  by  force  of  circumstances,  to  resort  to 
a  desperate  remedy,  Grafton  had  been  obliged  to  admit 
both  Weymouth  and  Gower  into  the  cabinet,  to  give 
office  to  Sandwich  and  Rigby,  and  to  promise  that 
some  of  the  less  influential  members  of  the  party 
should  be  "  noticed  at  the  time,  or  as  soon  as  could  be 
arranged  "  ;  x  and  the  granting  of  such  terms  registers 
the  failure  of  the  constitutional  experiment  inaugurated 
by  Chatham.  The  ministry  could  no  longer  be  com- 
pared to  a  piece  of  uncemented  tessellated  pavement, 
being  rather  a  coalition  between  the  Bedford  party 
and  the  relics  of  the  original  cabinet ;  and  contem- 
poraries, appreciating  the  significance  of  such  an 
alliance,  amused  themselves  by  speculating  which 
section  of  the  administration  would  gain  the  mastery. 
The  game  was  easy  enough  to  play,  no  great  prophetic 
insight  being  required  to  foretell  that  the  victory 
would  ultimately  lie  with  the  Bedfords.  Lord 
Weymouth  and  his  friends  were  proverbial  for  their 
skill  in  converting  an  inch  into  an  ell ;  and,  having 
once  entered  the  cabinet,  would  not  be  likely  to  rest 
content  until  they  had  secured  predominance  there, 
even  if  it  meant  actively  intriguing  against  the  first  lord 
of  the  treasury.  Their  success  was  almost  certain,  for 
Grafton  and  his  colleagues  had  far  too  little  in  common 
to  resist  the  steady  pressure  of  politicians  adept .  in 
the  art  of  acquiring  an  unfair  advantage.  Lord 
Shelburne,  already  profoundly  discontented  with  his 
situation  and  the  policy  pursued,  would  not  lift  a  hand 
in  Grafton's  defence  ;  and  it  was  vain  to  depend  upon 
Conway  and  Camden  in  the  hour  of  need.  The  future, 
undoubtedly,  lay  with  the  Bedfords  ;  and  when,  after 
a   little   hesitation,    the   king   extended   to   them   his 

1  Grafton's  Autobiography,  p.  182. 


THE  RESIGNATION  OF  CHATHAM  197 

confidence,  their  victory  was  assured.  It  was  some 
little  time  before  George  III.  could  forget  that  his 
new  servants  had  been  the  allies  of  George  Grenville 
both  in  and  out  of  office ;  and,  bearing  this  fact  in 
mind,  he  warned  Grafton  to  be  on  his  guard  against 
the  new  recruits  ;  but  in  time  such  distasteful 
recollections  were  obliterated,  and  "  the  engaging 
manners  of  the  two  lords  overcame  by  degrees  all 
the  prejudice  there  might  have  been  against  the  whole 
party."  x 

Thus,  in  order  to  frustrate  the  designs  of  the  opposi- 
tion, Grafton  had  undermined  the  foundations  of  his 
own  authority  ;  and  although  such  a  sacrifice  would 
have  been  well  worth  the  making,  if  productive  of  an 
efficient  and  popular  administration,  there  was  little 
indication  that  such  a  happy  consequence  would  flow 
from  the  accession  of  the  Bedfords  to  office.  Inasmuch 
as  the  new  ministers  were  pleasing  to  the  king,  they 
were  unlikely  to  win  the  approval  of  the  people  or  to 
promote  the  welfare  of  the  nation.  Though  Lord 
Sandwich  was  not  without  industry  or  ability,   and 

1  Grafton's  Autobiography,  p.  183  :  "  It  seems  to  me  clear,"  wrote 
Whately  to  George  Grenville,  "  that  the  Duke  of  Grafton  means  to  gain  the 
Bedfords  entirely  :  whether  the  consequences  will  be  that  he  will  get  them 
as  an  accession  to  his  party,  or  they  get  him  as  an  accession  to  theirs,  is,  I 
think,  very  doubtful  :  circumstances,  which  neither  can  command,  must 
determine  ;  but  without  the  intervention  of  particular  circumstances,  I  should 
be  inclined  to  think  that  the  party  of  the  Bedfords  being  of  more  real  weight 
than  the  individual  Duke  of  Grafton,  they  would  rather  draw  him  to  them, 
than  he  them  to  him."  John  Yorke,  a  younger  brother  of  Lord  Hardwicke, 
remarked  that  he  was  unable  to  "  understand  why  the  late  changes  have 
been  made,  and  I  do  not  wonder  they  should  be  not  disapproved  at  Stowe 
and  Wotton.  They  may  lead  to  more,  and  bring  things  round  to  where  they 
were  at  the  Peace.  It  is  impossible  to  suppose  that  the  fiery  duke  and  his 
friends  should  be  long  quiet  and  contented.  Lord  Shelburne  is  half  out 
already,  and  Con — y  more  than  half.  The  house  of  commons,  under  the 
conduct  of  Lord  North,  may  easily  be  played  into  the  hands  of  G.  G.,  by 
accident  if  Lord  Guilford  should  die,  or  by  management  if  the  Duke  of  Bedford 
lives.  But  in  all  events  I  think  the  Duke  of  Grafton  has  surrendered  about 
half  his  powers  at  least."  Grenville  Papers,  4,  248-249  ;  Add.  MS.,  35374, 
f.  340. 


198     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

could  justly  boast  considerable  experience  of  adminis- 
trative life,  he  enjoyed  an  unenviable  reputation 
as  the  most  notorious  profligate  of  a  very  profligate 
age ;  and  even  if  the  mob  had  been  prepared  to  over- 
look the  shortcomings  of  his  private  life,  they  would 
not  readily  forget  that  he  had  basely  betrayed  Wilkes, 
the  boon  companion  of  his  disreputable  leisure  hours. 
By  this  act  of  infamy  he  had  earned  his  well-known 
nickname  of  "  Jemmy  Twitcher,"  which  branded  him 
for  ever  as  lacking  in  generosity,  so  often  the  last  relic 
of  virtue  in  a  thoroughly  depraved  nature.  It  is  true 
that  Lord  Weymouth  had  a  far  less  sullied  reputation, 
but  his  comparative  respectability  was  not  so  much 
a  tribute  to  his  character  as  a  reflection  upon  the  laxity 
of  the  times.  Furnished  with  good  natural  abilities, 
and  a  fairly  effective  debater,  he  might  have  made 
himself  a  capable  administrator  if  he  had  given  to 
statecraft  a  tithe  of  the  time  he  devoted  to  gaming 
and  drinking.  George  II.  had  remarked  of  him  that 
he  cared  for  nothing  but  cards  and  strong  beer  ;  and 
to  the  satisfaction  of  these  passions  he  sacrificed  both 
his  fortune  and  his  health,  politics  being  merely  an 
interlude  in  a  headlong  career  of  dissipation.  Rarely 
leaving  the  card-table  before  six  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
and,  consequently,  seldom  rising  before  noon,  his  life 
was  one  long  drawn-out  debauch  ;  and,  shattered  by 
his  nightly  excesses,  he  was  frequently  compelled  to 
leave  the  business  of  his  office  to  be  transacted  by 
subordinates.  Not  all  the  new  ministers,  however, 
could  boast  an  equality  in  vice  with  Sandwich  or 
Weymouth.  Lord  Gower,  the  new  lord  president  of 
the  council,  was  undoubtedly  their  moral  superior  ; 
and,  although  he  rarely  rose  above  the  level  of  respect- 
able mediocrity,  he  could  boast  a  fund  of  good  humour 
and  tact,  sufficient  to  make  him  a  useful  member  of 


THE  RESIGNATION  OF  CHATHAM  199 

any  administration.1  Unfortunately,  these  happy 
attributes  were  not  shared  by  Lord  Hillsborough, 
the  new  secretary  of  state  for  the  colonies.  More 
of  a  courtier  than  a  statesman,  Hillsborough  had  not 
been  cast  by  nature  to  be  a  ruler  of  men,  and, 
in  after  years,  George  III.  frankly  avowed  that 
he  had  seldom  encountered  a  man  of  less  judgment.2 
An  impressive  presence  and  agreeable  manners,  which 
might  have  served  him  in  good  stead  in  an  office 
of  dignity  rather  than  of  business,  were  but  a  sorry 
equipment  for  the  task  he  had  actually  undertaken 
to  perform ;  and,  in  view  of  the  critical  relations 
between  England  and  her  colonies,  no  appointment 
could  have  been  more  unwise  or,  indeed,  more 
disastrous. 

The  reconstructed  administration,  therefore,  was 
but  the  old  writ  large,  with  old  faults  exaggerated  and 
new  defects  introduced ;  and  neither  Grafton  nor  the 
nation  had  reason  to  rejoice  over  the  change  which 
had  been  effected.  The  real  victor  was  George  III. 
It  was  he  who  had  triumphed,  for  he  had  secured 
advisers  after  his  own  heart,  and  no  longer  had  cause 
to  fear  that  he  might  be  compelled  to  choose  his 
ministers  at  the  dictation  of  parliament.  By  the 
surrender  of  the  Bedford  party  to  the  court,  he  was 
more  than  compensated  for  the  loss  of  Chatham  who, 
though  he  had  served  a  useful  turn  in  the  overthrow 
of  the  Rockingham  ministry,  was  far  too  great  a 
statesman,  and  too  little  of  a  time-server,  to  be  en- 
tirely agreeable  to  the  king.     It  mattered  nothing  to 

1  Henry  Fox,  a  shrewd  and  not  a  lenient  judge  of  his  fellow  creatures,  once 
told  Bute  that  Gower  was  "of  a  humour  and  nature  the  most  practicable, 
and  if  any  man  could  do  the  office  of  southern  secretary  without  either 
quarrelling  with  Charles  Townshend,  or  letting  down  the  dignity  of  his  own 
office,  he  would."     Fitzmaurice's  Shelburne,  i,  187. 

2  Hist.  MSS.  Coram.,  10th  Report,  Appendix,  Part  vi.  15. 


200    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

George  III.  that  the  ministry  was  notoriously  weak, 
the  country  discontented,  and  the  colonists  slowly,  but 
surely,  heading  towards  revolt.  It  was  of  far  greater 
moment  to  him  that  he  had  taken  the  sting  out  of  an 
opposition  which  might  have  subdued  him  to  its  will, 
and  that  the  danger,  which  had  threatened  him  during 
the  year  1767,  had  been  dissipated  by  a  successful 
negotiation.  Even  if  Grenville,  forgetting  old  and 
recent  grievances,  joined  hands  with  Rockingham 
against  the  court,  it  was  extremely  unlikely  that  their 
united  forces  would  prevail  against  the  ministerialists 
and  placemen  in  both  houses  of  parliament ;  and  if 
Rockingham,  despairing  of  the  future,  had  decided  to 
abandon  a  struggle,  from  which  all  hope  had  apparently 
departed,  he  could  not  have  been  blamed.  Ever  since 
his  loss  of  office  in  July,  1766,  he  had  toiled  in  defence 
of  those  principles  of  party  government,  which  he  had 
upheld  when  in  power,  and  had  not  forsaken  in  opposi- 
tion ;  and  it  seemed  as  if  the  hour  had  now  struck 
for  him  to  relinquish  a  contest  which  could  never  end 
in  victory.  Deserted  by  Bedford,  and  come  to  an 
open  breach  with  Grenville,  he  knew  that,  weak  as  he 
had  been  in  the  past,  he  would  be  still  weaker  in  the 
future  :  nor  was  it  certain  that  he  could  continue 
to  count  upon  the  fidelity  of  his  followers.  Wearied 
by  repeated  defeat,  men's  hearts  began  to  fail  them, 
and  that  apathy,  which  is  so  often  the  accompaniment 
of  failure,  began  to  rear  its  head  in  the  ranks  of  the 
whig  opposition.  On  the  occasion  of  an  important 
debate  in  the  upper  house  on  February  5th,  some 
of  Rockingham's  supporters  did  not  trouble  to  appear, 
and  others  went  away  before  a  division  was  taken  ;  l 
and  such  indifference  is  hardly  to  be  wondered  at, 
springing    as    it    did    from    a    conviction    that,    the 

1  Add.  MS.,  32988,  f.  170,  f.  186. 


THE  RESIGNATION  OF  CHATHAM  201 

cause  being  doomed,  the  time  had  come  to  beat  a 
retreat. 

It  is  greatly  to  Rockingham's  credit  that,  adverse 
as  the  situation  was,  he  refused  to  be  intimidated  into 
a  surrender,  and  his  courage  was  not  misplaced. 
Deficient  as  he  was  in  many  of  the  arts  of  statesmanship, 
of  no  great  ability,  and  often  lacking  in  foresight, 
it  must  never  be  forgotten  that  throughout  his  life 
he  fought  for  principles  which  he  refused  to  sacrifice 
to  expediency  or  personal  profit  ;  and,  nerved  by  the 
conviction  that  right  must  ultimately  triumph,  he 
encouraged  his  followers  to  endure  the  heat  and  burden 
of  the  battle,  in  the  sure  and  certain  hope  that  the  men, 
who  came  after  them,  would  reap  the  fruit  of  their 
valour.  "  I  firmly  believe,"  he  wrote  to  Dowdeswell 
in  the  autumn  of  1767,  "  that  no  set  of  politicians 
ever  acted  a  more  unbiassed  part  in  point  of  interest 
than  we  and  our  friends  have  done  ;  and  I  firmly  hope 
and  trust  we  shall  always  adhere  to  it.  You  know 
I  never  disguised  to  our  friends,  on  trying  occasions, 
that  I  considered  them  a  forlorn  hope,  but  that  the 
maintenance  of  character  and  credit  was  in  honour 
incumbent  upon  them,  and  would,  in  the  first  place, 
be  a  comfort  to  their  own  minds,  and,  though  it  might 
appear  improbable  at  present,  yet  it  was  not  im- 
possible but  that  such  conduct  would  ultimately 
prove  the  best  policy."  x 

1  "The  Memoir  of  the  Right  Honourable  William  Dowdeswell,"  printed  in 
The  Cavendish  Debates,  vol.  i.  p.  575  ff.  A  few  weeks  later,  Rockingham  in- 
forms Dowesdwell  that  "  our  line  of  conduct  is  nice,  and  requires  much  con- 
sideration. I  think,  as  a  general  rule,  we  should  constantly  look  back  to  what 
it  has  been,  and  adhere  to  the  same  line  in  future.  I  think  we,  and  we  only, 
of  all  the  party  now  in  opposition,  are  so,  on  system  and  principles — that  we 
ought  to  avail  ourselves  of  other  parties  now  in  opposition,  in  order  to  effect- 
uate good  purposes ;  and  that  we  should  be  cautious  not  even  to  throw  the 
appearance  of  leading  into  hands,  whose  principles  we  have  no  reason  to 
think  similar  to  our  own,  and  whose  honour  we  have  no  reason  to  confide 
in."     Ibid. 


202     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

Thus,  the  despair,  which  enervates  and  destroys, 
had  not  entered  into  Rockingham's  heart,  and,  in  his 
resolution  to  persevere,  he  was  ably  supported  by  the 
aged  Duke  of  Newcastle.  A  serious  illness,  at  the  close, 
of  the  year,  1767,  gave  Newcastle  timely  warning 
that  the  sands  of  his  long  life  were  at  last  running  out, 
and  he  was  reluctantly  compelled  to  abstain  from 
active  participation  in  political  life.  Yet,  though 
the  strength  had  failed,  the  interest  never  flagged, 
and  he  continued  eagerly  to  watch  the  fray  which  had 
been  both  his  business  and  his  pleasure  for  more  than 
half  a  century,  calling  upon  his  friends  to  rally  round 
Rockingham,  as  they  had  formerly  rallied  round  him. 
"  As  the  Duke  of  Newcastle,"  he  instructed  his  friend, 
West,  "  has  entirely  withdrawn  from  all  politics  and 
publick  affairs,  he  is  very  desirous  that  all  his  friends 
should  concur  with  my  Lord  Rockingham  in  such 
measures  as  he  shall  take  for  the  support  of  the  whig 
cause  .  .  .  and  for  the  true  interest  of  the  nation. 
He,  therefore,  will  be  extremely  obliged  to  Mr  West 
if  he  would  take  a  proper  opportunity  to  convey  these, 
his  sentiments  and  wishes,  to  the  Duke  of  Newcastle's 
friends  in  the  city,  .  .  .  and  also  to  my  Lord  Archer, 
my  Lord  Plymouth,  my  Lord  Winterton,  and  Mr 
West's  son-in-law,  Mr  Archer."  1 

It  is  beyond  all  question  that  the  leaders  of  the 
party  were  right  to  give  the  word  for  the  struggle 
to  continue.  In  a  few  weeks  parliament  was  to  be 
dissolved,  and  the  country  plunged  into  the  turmoil 
of  a  general  election,  and  Rockingham's  followers 
would  fare  but  ill  if  they  presented  themselves  to 
the  electors  as  beaten  men,  openly  confessing  to 
failure.     Under  the  most  favourable  conditions  they 

1  Add.  MS.,  32988,  f.  23.     A  similar  message  was  conveyed  to  Newcastle's 
Sussex  friends. 


THE  RESIGNATION  OF  CHATHAM  203 

could  hope  to  make  but  little  headway  against  the 
torrent  of  bribery  and  corruption  which  would  flow 
from  the  court  directly  parliament  was  dissolved ; 
but  their  fate  would  be  worse  still  if,  by  an  untimely 
surrender  of  their  principles  and  their  courage,  they 
forfeited  the  respect  of  the  people.  Only  by  acquiring 
the  confidence  of  the  country  could  they  expect  to 
gain  ultimate  victory ;  and  although  little  success 
had  attended  their  efforts  hitherto,  it  was  their  duty 
to  continue  to  appeal  to  the  nation  against  an  in- 
efficient administration  and  a  corrupted  house  of 
commons.  No  man  could  say  when  the  dawn  would 
come,  and  the  banner  of  the  party  must  not  be  trailed 
in  the  dust  before  the  verdict  of  the  people  had  been 
taken. 

Therefore,  during  the  last  session  of  the  expiring 
parliament,  Rockingham  and  his  friends,  rightly  refus- 
ing to  recognise  the  full  force  of  the  crushing  disaster 
they  had  sustained,  continued  their  opposition  to  the 
government,  though  it  must  be  admitted  that  not  a 
little  of  their  energy  was  expended  in  vain.  Once 
more  they  championed  the  cause  of  the  East  India 
company  which  they  conscientiously  believed  to  be 
the  victim  of  unjustifiable  interference  by  the  state. 
The  act,  limiting  the  dividends  of  the  company  to 
ten  per  cent.,  expired  in  the  autumn  of  1767  ;  and 
when  its  renewal  was  proposed  by  the  ministry,  the 
Rockingham  whigs,  modelling  their  conduct  on  what  it 
had  been  in  the  past,  sallied  forth  again  as  the  defenders 
of  the  rights  of  chartered  corporations.  In  the  house 
of  commons  Burke  and  Dowdeswell  were  foremost  in 
the  struggle,  but  neither  the  eloquence  of  the  one  nor 
the  activity  of  the  other  exercised  any  appreciable 
influence  upon  the  divisions.  Both  the  second  and 
final  readings  of  the  bill  were  carried  by  substantial 


204    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

majorities,  and  once  in  the  report  stage  the  opposition 
only  numbered  twenty-five  on  a  division ;  x  while 
in  the  house  of  lords,  though  the  bill  did  not  pass 
without  debate  and  the  registration  of  a  formal  pro- 
test, the  ministry  never  came  within  a  measurable 
distance  of  defeat.  The  ease  of  the  victory  was  largely 
due  to  the  disruption  effected  by  Grafton  in  the 
ranks  of  the  opposition.  The  Bedfords,  so  lately  the 
defenders  of  the  company,  were  now  the  allies  of  the 
court ;  and  though  Bedford,  Gower,  Sandwich,  and 
Weymouth,  fearful  of  the  charge  of  interested  incon- 
sistency, voted  against  the  bill,  the  less  important 
members  of  the  party,  not  so  careful  of  their  reputation, 
supported  the  government ;  and  if  Weymouth  gave 
his  vote  against  the  Duke  of  Grafton,  he  was  careful 
to  express  his  regret  at  so  doing,  and  the  hope  that  he 
would  never  again  differ  in  opinion  from  his  leader.2 

It  is  true,  of  course,  that  the  followers  of  Grenville, 
being  in  no  wise  connected  with  the  ministry,  had  no 
need  to  put  a  rein  upon  their  inclination  to  oppose 
the  bill ;  and  in  the  upper  house  both  Temple  and 
Lyttelton  spoke  strongly  against  the  government, 
the  former,  with  characteristic  acrimony,  inveighing 
against  corruption,  declaring  that  "  the  times  were 
bad  indeed,  that  in  his  youth  he  remembered  Sir 
Robert  Walpole's  times,  which  he  then  thought  bad, 
but  that  they  were  perfection  compared  with  the 
present."  3  The  example  of  these  two  lords  was 
not,  however,  followed  by  Grenville  himself,  who, 
during  the  passage  of  the  bill  through  the  lower  house, 
played  a  rather  more  ambiguous  part.  He  expressed 
his  disapproval  of  the  measure  by  speaking  and  voting 

1  Add.  MS.,  32987,  f.  301  ;  Add.  MS.,  32988,  f.  58,  f.  74  ;  Grenville  Papers, 
4,  240. 

2  Add.  MS.,  32988,  f.  170.  3  Ibid. 


THE  RESIGNATION  OF  CHATHAM  205 

against  it  on  the  second  reading ; *  but,  having  thus 
made  his  protest,  he  withdrew  from  the  fray,  and 
the  same  course  was  pursued  by  a  good  many  of  his 
followers.2  Thus,  the  burden  of  the  battle  fell  upon 
the  Rockinghams,  and  they  could  hardly  have  concealed 
from  themselves  that  they  were  fighting  in  vain. 
The  nation  was  unlikely  to  be  stirred  to  its  depths 
by  a  limitation  of  the  rights  of  a  powerful  corporation, 
and  it  must  have  been  small  consolation  for  them  to 
reflect  that,  badly  as  they  had  fared,  they  would  have 
fared  still  worse  if  they  had  adopted  a  policy  of  inaction. 
A  happier  fortune  attended  their  efforts  to  right  a 
wrong  inflicted  upon  one  of  themselves.  The  Duke  of 
Portland,  a  distinguished  and  most  loyal  member  of 
the  Rockingham  party,  had  recently  fallen  a  victim 
to  the  hatred  and  cupidity  of  Sir  James  Lowther,  a 
great  territorial  magnate  in  the  north  of  England 
where  Portland  was  also  possessed  of  extensive  estates. 
It  is  difficult  to  give  any  adequate  description  of 
Lowther,  save  in  terms  which  savour  of  caricature. 
Intoxicated  with  pride,  in  love  with  the  exercise  of 
power,  passionate  to  the  verge  of  frenzy,  and  totally 
unable  to  brook  the  slightest  opposition  to  his  will, 
he  exercised  a  tyrannical  and  almost  feudal  rule  over 
his  tenants  and  dependents,  being  wont  to  display 
his  authority  by  denying  justice  to  those  who  were 
too  weak  to  resist  and  too  proud  to  submit.3  A 
son-in-law  of  Lord  Bute,  and,  therefore,  an  ardent 
supporter  of  the  government,  Lowther  had  extensive 
political    influence    in    the    counties    of    Cumberland 

1  Add.  MS.,  32987,  f.  301  ;  Grenville  Papers,  4,  240. 

2  After  the  bill  had  been  sent  up  to  the  upper  house,  Rockingham  re- 
marked to  Newcastle  how  "  George  Grenville,  Sir  Fletcher  Norton,  and  that 
set  kept  away  in  the  house  of  commons."     Add.  MS.,  32988,  f.  81. 

3  For  a  curious  and  interesting  account  of  Lowther,  see  Rockingham 
Memoirs,  2,  69-72. 


206    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

and  Westmoreland,  his  only  rival  in  that  field  being 
the  Duke  of  Portland  who  was  as  justly  popular  as 
he  was  justly  detested.  Infuriated  at  the  prospect 
of  his  supremacy  over  the  voters  in  the  district  being 
disputed  at  the  approaching  general  election,  Lowther 
applied  to  the  treasury  for  a  lease  of  Inglewood  Forest, 
which,  though  originally  part  of  the  royal  domain, 
had  been  in  the  possession  of  the  Portland  family 
for  many  years,  and,  if  of  small  monetary  value,  was 
highly  prized  as  including  within  its  boundaries  a 
large  number  of  freeholders  possessed  of  the  franchise. 
Willing  enough  to  gratify  a  supporter  and  to  damage 
an  antagonist,  the  ministers  acceded  to  his  request ; 
and  they  were  able  to  justify  their  action  by  the 
strict  letter  of  the  law.  The  old  adage,  nullum  tempus 
occurrit  regi,  still  held  good  in  law,  and  it  was,  un- 
fortunately, impossible  for  Portland  to  prove  that  the 
territory  in  dispute  had  ever  been  formally  granted 
to  his  ancestors  by  the  crown.  It  is  true  that  every 
obstacle  was  placed  by  the  government  in  the  way 
of  the  establishment  of  such  a  claim ;  but,  even  if  the 
most  liberal  facilities  had  been  granted,  it  is  open 
to  question  whether  Portland  could  have  proved  his 
right.  All  that  could  be  urged  on  his  behalf  was  that 
his  family  had  held  the  land,  now  leased  to  Lowther, 
in  undisputed  possession  for  many  years  past  ;  but 
such  an  argument  had  more  moral  than  legal  force  ; 
and  even  Rockingham,  deeply  incensed  though  he  was 
at  the  wrong  inflicted  upon  a  loyal  supporter,  was 
compelled  to  admit  that,  according  to  the  most  favour- 
able construction  of  the  existing  law,  it  was  necessary 
to  prove  continuous  possession  for  more  than  two 
hundred  years,  in  order  effectively  to  bar  the  claims 
of  the  crown.1 

1  Rockingham  Memoirs,  2,  73-74. 


THE  RESIGNATION  OF  CHATHAM  207 

Thus,  arbitrary  and  unfair  as  the  ministerial  action 
was,  it  was  not  illegal ;  nor,  indeed,  was  it  unpre- 
cedented. We  learn  from  Horace  Walpole  that  "  it 
was  common,  particularly  in  Wales,  for  private 
jobbers  to  apply  to  the  treasury,  and  offer  to  make 
out  the  title  of  the  crown  to  certain  lands  which  had 
been  usurped  from  the  domain,  under  pretence  of  having 
been  grants,  though  often  the  grantees  had  occupied 
much  more  than  had  been  granted.  On  these  occasions 
a  new  grant  was  the  condition  and  reward  of  the 
informer."  x  Walpole's  testimony  is  of  interest,  but 
its  importance  should  not  be  exaggerated.  The  pre- 
valence of  an  iniquitous  practice  does  not  render  it 
any  less  iniquitous,  and  supported  though  the  con- 
fiscation of  Inglewood  Forest  might  be  by  precedent 
and  law,  there  were  special  circumstances  connected 
with  it  which  rendered  it  of  peculiar  and  exceptional 
interest.  It  was  abundantly  clear  that  Portland's 
political  opinions  had  marked  him  out  for  attack, 
and  that  the  whole  transaction  was  nothing  but  an 
unscrupulous  move  in  an  electioneering  game.  Law 
and  justice  had  been  evoked  to  cloak  a  thoroughly 
nefarious  business,  and  the  social  rank  of  the  victim, 
his  justly  respected  character,  and  the  infamy  of  his 
accuser,  were  certain  to  attract  general  and  unwelcome 
attention  to  what  the  ministers  had  done.  A  highly 
obnoxious  practice,  tolerated  in  the  past  because  the 
sufferers  had  been  few,  and,  for  the  most  part,  in- 
significant, was  thus  dragged  into  the  light ;  and  land- 
owners, who  had  hitherto  believed  themselves  immune 
from  any  interference  by  the  crown,  now  began  to 
fear  a  scrutiny  into  their  title  deeds,  and  to  wonder 
whether  the  resumption  of  Inglewood  Forest  was  only 
the  beginning  of  an  organised  crusade  against  private 

s 
1  Walpole's  Memoirs,  3,  102. 


208     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

property.  "  The  Duke  of  Portland  himself,"  wrote 
Rockingham  in  January,  1768,  "  is  the  only  person 
whom  Lord  Rockingham  has  seen,  either  in  town  or 
country,  who  is  cool  upon  the  subject.  The  duchy 
courts  of  Lancaster  have,  within  the  last  year  or  two, 
made  several  attempts  to  revive  and  make  out  old 
claims  .  .  .  which  in  the  northern  counties  had 
already  made  great  uneasiness.  This  event  in  the 
Duke  of  Portland's  case  .  .  .  makes  the  greater 
impression  there,  from  their  minds  being  already 
agitated  by  these  circumstances."  1 

If  this  was  true,  a  private  misfortune  might  become 
a  public  benefit,  and  the  Rockingham  party  profit 
by  the  sufferings  of  one  of  their  number.  It  was 
incumbent  upon  the  Rockingham  whigs  to  make  use 
of  whatever  agitation  existed  in  the  nation  against 
the  government  ;  and  so,  influenced  by  policy  as 
much  as  by  sentiment,  they  determined  to  espouse 
the  cause  of  their  injured  friend,  and,  not  unnaturally, 
hoped  to  receive  the  support  of  the  landed  interest 
both  in  and  out  of  parliament.  "  I  heartily  wish," 
wrote  Rockingham,  at  the  beginning  of  February, 
"  that  nothing  may  prevent  our  agitating  a  matter 
which,  in  my  belief,  will  do  so  much  real  publick 
service  .  .  .  and  will  do  us  so  much  honour,  at  all 
events,  to  be  the  movers  in";  while  a  little  later  he 
remarked  that,  though  the  "  success  the  motion  may 
have  in  the  house  may  be  doubtful,  ...  I  am  fully 
persuaded  that  out  of  doors  it  will  be  most  exceedingly 
relished."  2  Thus,  convinced  that  fortune  at  last 
smiled  upon  them,  the  followers  of  Rockingham  set 
to  work  to  prepare  a  plan  of  campaign,  and  the  task 
was  not  quite  so  easy  as  it  might  at  first  sight  appear. 
It  was  imperative  that  the  personal  note  should  not 

1  Add.  MS.,  32988,  f.  31.  2  Ibid.,  f.  134,  f.  333. 


THE  RESIGNATION  OF  CHATHAM  209 

be  unduly  stressed,  the  point  of  the  attack  being 
rather  to  evoke  opposition  to  the  government  among 
the  landed  classes,  than  to  redress  the  private  grievances 
of  the  Duke  of  Portland  ;  and,  if  the  opposition  con- 
tented itself  with  the  demand  that  the  Duke  should 
be  reinstated  in  his  lost  possessions,  leaving  the  rest 
of  the  landed  gentry  to  the  tender  mercies  of  the 
ministry,  there  would  be  little  enthusiasm  either  in 
parliament  or  in  the  country.  The  danger  was 
sufficiently  obvious  to  be  avoided  ;  and,  after  a  few 
meetings  of  the  leading  members  of  the  party,  it  was 
arranged  that  Sir  George  Savile,  who  undertook 
the  task  reluctantly,  should  propose  in  the  house  of 
commons  the  enforcement  and  amendment  of  an 
act  of  parliament,  entitled  "  for  quieting  the  minds 
of  those  possessed  of  crown  lands,"  which  had  been 
passed  in  the  reign  of  James  I.1  The  move  was 
skilfully  contrived,  for  such  a  motion,  designed  as  it 
was  to  avert  the  evil  of  arbitrary  action  by  the  govern- 
ment in  the  future,  could  hardly  fail  to  win  the  support 
of  the  country  gentry  ;  and  the  ministers  might  well 
find  that  the  loyalty  of  many  of  their  habitual 
supporters  was  not  proof  against  the  competition  of 
self-interest.2  ~ 

Wednesday,  February  17th,  was  the  date  fixed  for 
the  opposition  attack,  and,  until  that  day  came, 
the  greatest  secrecy  was  observed,  in  order  that  the 
government  might  be  taken  by  surprise.  So  elaborate, 
indeed,  was  the  conspiracy  of  silence,  that  when  notice 
of  Savile's  motion  was  given  on  February  15th,  it  was 
intentionally  couched  in  such  vague  and  misleading 
language  that  the  ministers  failed  to  gain  the  slightest 

1  Add.  MS.,  32988,  f.  204,  f.  264,  f.  288. 

2  Thus  Rockingham  hoped  that  the  "  real  goodness  of  the  question  will 
operate  strongly  on  any  persons  in  the  house,  who  may  have  the  least  in- 
clination of  favour  towards  us."     Add.  MS.,  32988,  f.  307. 


210    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

inkling  of  the  line  that  their  opponents  intended  to 
take.1  Hopes  ran  high,  Rockingham  and  his  friends 
being  indefatigable  in  beating  up  supporters,  and  their 
energy  was  not  expended  totally  in  vain;  for,  when 
Savile  introduced  his  motion  on  the  appointed  day, 
the  government  only  prevailed  by  the  slender  majority 
of  twenty.  Indeed,  all  the  arguments,  and  a  great  deal 
of  the  eloquence,  were  on  the  side  of  the  defeated 
opposition,  and  the  ministerialists,  fearing,  on  the  eve 
of  a  general  election,  directly  to  oppose  a  proposal 
so  obviously  just  and  so  deservedly  popular,  were 
driven  weakly  to  urge  that  the  time  was  inopportune, 
and  that  so  important  a  question  ought  not  to  be 
settled  by  an  expiring  parliament.  This  was  but  a 
sorry  line  of  defence,  a  trumped  up  principle  incapable 
of  sustaining  investigation  ;  and  it  is  little  wonder  that 
Rockingham,  who  watched  the  debate  until  its  close, 
was  delighted  with  the  day's  work.  Burke,  Dowdeswell 
and  Charles  Yorke  were  foremost  in  the"  attack,  and 
Sir  William  Meredith  spoke  with  so  much  fervour 
and  earnestness  that  "  he  fairly  exhausted  himself 
of  bodily  strength,  but  not  before  the  strength  of  his 
arguments  had  made  real  impression."  Nor  was 
the  glory  confined  exclusively  to  the  followers  of 
Rockingham ;  for  even  George  Grenville  acquitted 
himself  well  as  a  defender  of  property,2  and  although 
only  two  members  of  the  administration,  Lord 
Palmerston  and  Augustus  Hervey,  voted  with  the 
opposition,  there  were  many  deserters  from  the  rank 
and  file  of  the  ministerial  party.3     "  I  will  venture 

1  Add.  MS.,  32988,  f.  134,  f.  222. 

2  Rockingham,  at  all  events,  approved  of  Grenville's  conduct,  though 
Horace  Walpole  affirms  that  he  "  trimmed  with  all  his  art,  not  to  offend  Lord 
Bute  and  Sir  James  Lowther."     Walpole's  Memoirs,  3,  115. 

3  Add.  MS.,  32988,  f.  357,  f.  369:  Hist.  MSS.  Comm.  Carlisle  MSS., 
243-245  ;   Walpole's  Memoirs,  3,  114  ff. 


THE  RESIGNATION  OF  CHATHAM  211 

to  ensure  success  to  our  motion  on  renewing  it  at  the 
opening  of  the  next  session  of  parliament,"  wrote 
Rockingham  in  true  prophetic  vein ;  "  and  I  think  I 
may  also  add  that  the  landed  interest  in  England  will 
highly  approve  our  attempt,  as  it  will  secure  them 
against  the  odious  revival  of  long  dormant  claims  of 
the  crown  ...  on  private  landed  property."  l 

Such  jubilation,  justified  in  a  measure  though  it 
might  be,  was,  unhappily,  somewhat  exaggerated.  It 
is  true  that  the  Rockingham  whigs  had  played  a 
creditable  part  in  parliament,  and  had  succeeded 
in  materially  diminishing  the  ministerial  majority ; 
but  there  their  victory  ended.  They  had  failed  in  the 
most  important  part  of  their  task,  namely  in  arousing 
a  popular  agitation  throughout  the  country  against 
the  government  ;  and  for  this  they  are  not  to  be 
blamed.  There  was  no  time,  on  the  eve  of  a  general 
election,  to  carry  the  conflict  from  Westminster  into 
the  counties,  to  educate  small  and  large  landowners 
into  the  belief  that  their  cherished  possessions  were 
in  danger  ;  and,  like  the  gambler,  prevented  from  reap- 
ing a  golden  harvest  from  a  sudden  turn  of  luck  by 
the  closing  of  the  gaming  tables,  Rockingham  and  his 
friends  were  driven  to  appeal  to  the  country  at  the  very 
moment  they  would  not  have  chosen.  On  the  ioth 
of  March,  parliament,  having  completed  its  legal  term 
of  seven  years,  acquiring  in  the  process  a  thoroughly 
deserved  reputation  for  ignoble  subservience  to  the 
court,  was  dissolved,  and  its  epitaph  was  composed 
by  Horace  Walpole.  "  Thus  ended,"  he  wrote,  "  that 
parliament,  uniform  in  nothing  but  in  its  obedience  to 
the  crown.  To  all  I  have  said  I  will  only  add,  that 
it  would  have  deserved  the  appellation  of  one  of  the 
worst  parliaments  England  ever  s-.vf,  if  its  servility 

1  Rockingham  Memoirs,  2,  73-74,1 


212     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

had  not  been  so  great,  that,  as  the  times  changed, 
it  enacted  remedies  for  the  evils  it  had  committed  with 
the  same  facility  with  which  it  had  complied  with 
the  authors  of  those  evils.  Our  ancestors,  who  dealt 
in  epithets,  might  have  called  it  the  impudent  parlia- 
ment." 2 

Evil  as  the  parliament  had  been,  it  was,  unfortun- 
ately, only  too  likely  that  its  successor  would  continue  in 
the  same  path.  If  the  opinion  of  the  country  had  been 
really  taken,  it  is  probable  that  George  III.  might 
have  discovered  how  far  he  had  strayed  from  the 
road  in  which  Bolingbroke  had  appointed  him  to 
walk  ;  but,  in  the  eighteenth  century,  the  populace 
had  to  be  deeply  stirred  to  make  its  voice  prevail 
over  the  raucous  cries  of  borough-brokers  and  their 
like  ;  and  the  general  election  of  1768  was  no  exception 
to  the  common  rule.  Few  political  contests  have 
been  more  disfigured  by  bribery  and  corruption, 
the  destiny  of  a  great  kingdom  being  bought  and  sold 
in  the  open  market.  Even  contemporaries,  accus- 
tomed to  a  degree  of  venality  which  would  make  the 
most  hardened  political  cynic  of  the  present  day 
shudder  at  the  depravity  of  mankind,  were  astonished 
at  the  brutal  and  fierce  competition  for  seats. 
"  Elections  here  have  been  carried  to  a  degree  of 
frenzy  hitherto  unheard  iof,"  wrote  Chesterfield  to  his 
son  ;  "  that  for  the  town  of  Northampton  has  cost 
the  contending  parties  at  least  thirty  thousand  pounds 
a  side,  and  George  Selwyn  has  sold  the  borough  of 
Luggershall  to  two  members  for  nine  thousand  pounds." 2 
Nor  is  Chesterfield  the  only  witness  to  the  fury  of 
the  competition,  for  we  find  Rockingham  deploring 
the  very  large  number  of  men,  qualified  in  every  way 
for  a  place  in  parliament,  who  were  prevented,   by 

1  Walpole's  Memoirs,  3,  116.  2  Chesterfield's  Letters,  3,  1375-1376. 


THE  RESIGNATION  OF  CHATHAM  213 

lack  of  means,  from  satisfying  a  legitimate  ambition  ;  l 
and  it  is  somewhat  astonishing  to  find  a  borough, 
for  which  two  thousand  pounds  was  asked,  being 
regarded  in  the  light  of  a  bargain  to  be  snapped  up 
without  delay.2 

This  general  anxiety  on  all  sides  to  acquire  seats 
effectively  stimulated  corruption  and  intimidation  ; 
and  we  may  be  certain  that  the  stories,  which  have 
come  down  to  us,  are  but  a  few  of  the  many  in  circula- 
tion among  the  politicians  of  the  day.  Perhaps  the 
most  flagrant  and  cynical  abuse  of  the  franchise  was 
afforded  by  the  mayor  and  corporation  of  the  city 
of  Oxford,  who  threatened  to  unseat  their  two  repre- 
sentatives unless  they  pledged  themselves  to  redeem 
the  debt  incurred  by  the  corporation  in  the  mainten- 
ance of  a  luxurious  and  expensive  table  ; 3  and  this 
was  no  solitary  instance  of  intimidation.  The  curate 
of  Aldborough,  in  the  county  of  Suffolk,  was  active  in 
bringing  illegal  pressure  to  bear  upon  the  voters  of 
that  town  ;  but,  as  he  worked  in  the  interests  of  the 
government,  he  was  more  fortunate  than  the  offending 
mayor  and  corporation  of  Oxford,  escaping  a  parlia- 
mentary   conviction.4      Great    noblemen    were     also 

1  "  The  great  expences  of  elections  have  indeed  too  much  .  .  .  deterred  the 
prudent  and  proper  persons  from  attempting  to  come  into  parliament.  Gentle- 
men possessed  of  2  or  3000^  per  ann.  estates  feel  that  their  fortunes  will  not 
bear  an  extraordinary  outgoing  of  3  or  4000^  for  a  seat  in  parliament,  and  the 
additional  expences  incurring  by  a  long  residence  in  London."  Add.  MS., 
32986,  f.  329. 

2  "  The  Duke  of  Newcastle  also  acquaints  my  Lord  Rockingham  that  he 
has  a  friend  of  his,  upon  whom  he  can  depend,  that  has  offered  him  a  sure 
borough  for  any  friend  of  his,  for  ^2000,  but  the  answer  must  be  given  im- 
mediately."    Add.  MS.,  32988,  f.  196. 

3  Hist.  MSS.  Comm.  Weston  Underwood  MSS.,  410-41 1  ;  Carlisle  MSS., 
235-240;  Pari.  History,  xvi. 

4  "  Bennet,  the  curate  of  Aldborough,"  wrote  a  member  of  parliament  to 
Lord  Hardwicke  on  February  28th,  1768,  "  appeared  at  our  Bar  on  Tuesday, 
his  council  Dunning,  and  George  Leigh  Tonnereau  had  no  assistance.  .  .  . 
His  two  witnesses  clearly  proved  the  fact  and  uniformly  kept  to  it  after  re- 
peated examinations.    .    .    .    They  were  not  quite  so  exact  in  a  multitude  of 


214    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

active  in  the  sordid  contest.  Lord  Edgecumbe,  who 
had  great  influence  in  the  county  of  Cornwall,  counted 
upon  returning  six  members  to  the  new  parliament, 
and  Lord  Clive  reckoned  upon  having  seven  repre- 
sentatives x ;  but  Clive  and  Edgecumbe  were  but 
amateur  dabblers  compared  with  the  Duke  of  New- 
castle who,  though  crippled  by  disease  and  age, 
plunged,  with  almost  youthful  ardour,  into  what  was 
to  be  his  last  electioneering  campaign.  Many  weeks 
before  parliament  was  dissolved,  he  had  been  engaged 
in  the  congenial  occupation  of  distributing  repre- 
sentatives between  the  various  boroughs  under  his 
control,  and  complaining  bitterly  of  the  interference 
he  suffered  at  the  hands  of  the  Duke  of  Grafton.  '  I 
am  attacked  in  a  most  cruel  manner  by  his  grace,  the 
Duke  of  Grafton,"  he  confided  to  Lord  Mansfield. 
"  He  is,  I  hope,  quite  defeated  at  Rye,  but  he  told 
George  Onslow  that  he  had  settled  Hastings,  a  town 
which  never  was,  or  ought  to  be,  a  treasury  burrough 
...  a  town  where,  ever  since  the  year  1714,  I  have 
constantly  chose  both  the  members  to  this  very  day."  2 
Yet,  in  spite  of  Grafton  poaching  upon  what  Newcastle 
regarded  as  his  own  private  preserve,  the  old  duke's 
labours  were  rewarded  with  a. fair  measure  of  success. 
"  For  my  part,  upon  the  whole,"  he  informed  Lord 
George  Cavendish,  "  I  have  succeeded  pretty  well, 
having  carried  all  my  members  everywhere,  except  for 
that  ungrateful  town  of  Lewes  "  ; 3    and  if  he  failed 

collateral  questions  put  by  the  council,  some  of  them  quite  forein  (sic)  to  the 
business.  This  was  called  gross  prevarication.  Upon  this  the  advocates 
rested  their  defence,  and  upon  this  the  House  acquitted  Bennet,  about  one 
in  the  morning,  by  155  to  39.  .  .  .  'Twas  natural  it  must  be  owned  that  such 
an  inquiry  should  be  opposed,  considering  whither  it  led,  had  it  been  rigor- 
ously followed  up."     Add.  MS.,  35608,  f.  114. 

1  Add.  MS.,  32987,  f.  202. 

a  Add.  MS.,  32985,  f.  88  ;  see  also,  f.  358  and  Add.  MS.,  32986,  f.  391. 

3  Add.  MS.,  32989,  f.  232. 


THE  RESIGNATION  OF  CHATHAM  215 

at  Lewes  it  was  not  for  want  of  trying.  "  I  expected 
to  have  heard  from  you  before  now,"  he  wrote  to  his 
agent  in  that  town,  early  in  March,  "  how  the  state  of 
our  affairs  stands  at  Lewes.  By  the  enclosed  letter 
I  find  we  shall  still  have  some  difficulty  with  the 
dissenters.  However,  they  will  have  a  very  strong 
letter  from  the  body  of  dissenters  here,  pressing  them 
to  support  my  interest  ...  I  hear  that  Morris,  the 
butcher,  who  has  taken  so  much  money  of  me  and  my 
family,  is  engaged  to  Colonel  Hay.  I  am  determined 
to  know  my  friends,  and  they  shall  be  known,  not 
only  to  the  whole  country,  but  to  all  the  world.  .  .  . 
Stand  a  poll  I  will  and  will  know  my  friends  from  my 
enemies.  If  gratitude  and  honour  won't  prevail  with 
them,  I  hope  interest  will ;  and  the  tradesmen  of  Lewes 
ought  to  consider  how  much  money  my  friends,  and 
particularly  my  cousin,  Pelham  of  Stanmer,  and  my 
Lord  Gage  spend  amongst  them.  My  cousin,  Pelham 
of  Stanmer,  alone  pays  out  £1100  a  year  amongst 
them,  and  he  will  not  lay  out  less  by  having  above 
£40,000  left  him  by  his  father  in-law,  Mr  Frankland. 
In  short,  if  they  will  proceed  with  violence,  I  will 
use  violence  towards  them,  and  will  know  who  are 
my  friends,  and  who  are  not."  * 

It  would  be  a  mistake  to  imagine  that  intimidation 
was  the  only  weapon  that  Newcastle  used  :  his  corre- 
spondence reveals  that  there  was  another  and  a  lighter 


1  Add.  MS.,  32989,  f.  113.  On  Miller  failing  to  be  elected,  Newcastle  in- 
structed his  steward,  Abraham  Bailey,  "  to  give  notice  to  such  of  my  tenants 
at  Lewes  who  did  not  vote  for  the  election  of  Mr  Hampden  and  Mr  Miller  at 
the  last  election  there,  the  16th  of  March  last,  to  quit  their  several  houses 
at  Michmas  next.  Also  that  my  said  steward  do  call  in  the  bills  of  such 
tradesmen  at  Lewes,  who  have  been  usually  employed  by  me,  and  did  not  vote 
as  above,  and  not  employ  them  again  on  my  account."  It  is  doubtful,  how- 
ever, whether  these  drastic  orders  were  executed  ;  the  Duke  of  Richmond  pro- 
tested against  them,  and  Newcastle  agreed  to  talk  the  matter  over  with  him. 
Add.  MS.,  32990,  f.  165,  f.  196  ;  f.  200. 


216    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

side  of  electioneering  business.  Sir  John  Miller,  the 
father  of  the  defeated  candidate  at  Lewes,  relates  how 
"  Sir  Ferdinand  intends  to  roast  a  little  ox  on  the 
day  of  election,"  and  adds,  feelingly,  that  "  the  service 
is  rather  severe  ;  I  have  been  up  three  nights  and, 
I  can  assure  you,  I  can  jump,  dance,  run,  sing  and 
hollow  as  well  as  ever  I  did."  1  Nor  were  such 
festivities  confined  to  the  town  of  Lewes ;  and,  from 
the  Duke  of  Richmond,  Newcastle  heard  how,  at 
Chichester,  "  we  drank  your  grace's  health  in  a  bumper, 
with  many  huzzas,  the  very  first  toast  after  the  Royal 
family,  the  county,  and  the  city.  We  then  went 
on  with  the  marquis,  the  Duke  of  Portland,  Sir  George 
Savile,  and  no  nullum  tenipus,  etc.,  etc.,  etc.,  till  we 
were  all  completely  finished."  2 

Great  as  was  the  energy  displayed  by  Newcastle, 
he  was  not  the  only  member  of  the  opposition  to  toil 
to  increase  the  numerical  strength  of  the  party  in  the 
new  parliament.  Rockingham  used  his  great  political 
influence  in  Yorkshire  to  good  effect,3  and  nowhere 
was  the  contest  fiercer  than  in  the  counties  of  Cumber- 
land and  Westmoreland,  where  the  antagonists  were 
the  Duke  of  Portland  and  Sir  James  Lowther.  The 
political  rivalry  of  these  two  great  landowners  having 
been  embittered  by  personal  hate  and  spite,  the  struggle 
could  not  fail  to  be  keen ;  and  it  was  rumoured  that 
Lowther,  having  defrauded  Portland  of  an  estate,  was 
now  intent  upon  his  financial  ruin.4  He  failed,  indeed, 
to  attain  this  sinister  end,  but  he  was  at  least  successful 
in  making  Portland  spend  money  lavishly,  the  duke's 

1  Add.  MS.,  32989,  f.  163.  2  Add.  MS.,  32989,  f.  230. 

3  Add.  MS.,  32989,  f.  232. 

4  It  was  reported  that  the  Duke  of  Bedford  had  stated,  in  a  public  room 
at  Bath,  that  Lowther  had  asserted  that  he  "  would  at  any  time  spend  twenty- 
thousand  pounds  to  make  the  Duke  of  Portland  spend  fifteen,  for  I  know  I 
can  hold  out  longer  than  he  can,  and  my  meaning  is  to  ruin  him."  Add. 
MS.,  32990,  f.  21. 


THE  RESIGNATION  OF  CHATHAM  217 

expenditure  being  estimated  at  forty  thousand  pounds. 
Extravagant  as  such  an  outlay  was,  it  did  not  go  un- 
rewarded; for  if  Lowther  secured  his  own  return  as 
one  of  the  members  for  the  county  of  Cumberland,  he 
was  destined  to  be  speedily  unseated  on  an  election 
petition  ;  and  Portland  had  every  reason  to  be  pleased 
with  the  success  of  the  candidates  he  favoured.  "  The 
election  for  this  place,"  he  wrote  to  Newcastle  from 
Carlisle,  '  is  appointed  on  Wednesday  next,  and 
I  am  pretty  confident  that  neither  promises,  threats, 
nor  money  in  hand,  can  prevent  my  giving  you  as 
satisfactory  an  account  of  it  as  that  of  Wigan.  I  was 
met  at  my  entrance  into  the  county,  and  on  my  arrival 
here,  by  some  thousands  who,  to  my  honour  and 
satisfaction,  .  .  .  crowded  in  from  every  part  of  the 
county  to  testify  their  regard  and  attachment  to  me, 
and  their  abhorrence  and  determined  resentment  of 
an  act  so  injurious  to  private  property.  The  eight 
guilds  of  this  city  would  all  have  met  me  with  their 
colours  flying,  if  they  had  not  been  stopped  by  my 
friends  who  thought  it  more  prudent  for  them  to  wait 
in  turn,  and  salute  me  only  as  I  passed  by."  x 

Thus  Newcastle,  Rockingham,  and  Portland  were  all 
able  to  congratulate  themselves  upon  the  success 
they  had  gained  ;  but  it  must  not  be  imagined  that 
they,  and  the  principles  they  represented,  had  really 
triumphed.  They  had  held  their  own,  but  had  done 
no  more,  having  failed  materially  to  reduce  the  majority 
of  the  government ;  and,  when  the  new  parliament 
met,  the  ministers  were  able  to  count  with  safety 
upon  a  substantial  following  in  both  houses.2     Nor, 

1  Add.  MS.,  32989,  f.  206. 

1  "  In  the  meantime  the  parliament  was  chosen  to  the  consent  of  the 
court,  though  by  the  inactivity  of  the  Duke  of  Grafton,  and  the  unpopularity 
of  their  chief  friends,  the  majority  was  not  greater  than  in  the  last  assembly." 
Walpole's  Memoirs,  3,  135. 


218    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

indeed,  was  there  any  sign  that  the  Rockingham  whigs 
were  the  chosen  of  the  people,  the  heroes  of  the  country  ; 
and  it  was  because  they  were  so  lightly  considered  by 
the  nation  that  they  failed  to  stem  the  tide  of  bribery 
and  corruption  running  against  them.  That  there 
was  little  or  no  love  in  the  country  for  an  administra- 
tion, which  had  proved  its  inefficiency  up  to  the  hilt, 
is  beyond  all  question ;  but  the  affection,  which  the 
people  withheld  from  the  advisers  of  the  crown,  was 
bestowed  neither  upon  the  followers  of  Rockingham 
nor  of  Grenville,  but  upon  that  restless  demagogue, 
John  Wilkes  who,  having  already  proved  himself  a 
thorn  in  the  side  of  one  ministry,  was  to  be  a  source 
of  unending  trouble  and  confusion  to  another. 

It  was  certainly  as  no  unknown  man  that  Wilkes 
appealed  to  the  English  people  in  the  general  election 
of  1768,  for  he  had  already  posed  as  the  champion 
of  the  freedom  of  the  subject,  and  played  with  con- 
spicuous success  the  martyr's  role.  Few  men  have 
burst  more  suddenly  into  political  fame,  or  risen  from 
more  sordid  and  degraded  surroundings.  At  the 
beginning  of  George  III.'s  reign,  his  only  reputation 
was  that  of  a  clever  and  debauched  man  of  fashion, 
notoriously  addicted  to  the  most  vicious  pleasures, 
and  the  boon  companion  of  the  most  dissolute  men 
of  the  time.  Politically  in  sympathy  with  the  whig 
opposition  to  Lord  Bute  and  the  court,  he  but  rarely 
took  part  in  debate,  confining  his  energy,  for  the  most 
part,  to  his  journal,  The  North  Briton,  which  he  used  as 
a  vehicle  for  the  most  bitter  and  unscrupulous  attacks 
upon  the  ministry  and  the  Scotch  nation.  There  was 
little  to  discriminate  him  from  the  needy  herd  who 
eked  out  a  precarious  livelihood  by  the  dissemination 
of  slander  and  falsehood ;  and  it  is  possible  that,  had 
it  not  been  for  the  indiscretion  of  Grenville  and  the 


THE  RESIGNATION  OF  CHATHAM  219 

folly  of  George  III.,  the  name  of  Wilkes  would  have 
been  unknown  at  the  present  day,  save  to  curious 
inquirers  into  the  shady  bypaths  of  eighteenth-century 
history.  For  a  violent  attack  upon  the  king's  speech 
at  the  close  of  the  parliamentary  session  in  the  spring 
of  1763,  Wilkes  was  arrested  under  a  general  warrant, 
an  expedient  of  very  doubtful  legality,  and  charged 
with  the  offence  of  seditious  libel.  Discharged  by 
Chief  Justice  Pratt  who  ruled  that  the  prisoner  was 
protected  by  his  parliamentary  privilege,  Wilkes  only 
obtained  his  freedom  to  fall  a  victim  to  the  hatred 
of  the  ministers  and  the  court,  who  renewed  the  attack 
when  parliament  met  in  the  autumn.  After  pro- 
longed debates,  he  was  expelled  from  the  house  of 
commons  in  January,  1764 ;  and,  having  fled  the  country 
to  escape  his  persecutors,  was  convicted  in  his  absence 
of  publishing  a  seditious  libel  and  an  obscene  poem, 
and,  on  failing  to  appear  to  receive  sentence,  was 
condemned  to  outlawry.  In  exile  he  remained  for 
two  years,  wandering  through  France  and  Italy,  and 
finding  consolation  in  the  charms  of  the  courtesan, 
Corradini.  Deserted  by  his  mistress,  and  hungering 
to  play  once  more  a  part  in  public  life,  he  visited 
England  in  May,  1766,  in  the  hope  that  Lord 
Rockingham,  then  in  power,  would  repair  the  wrong 
which  had  been  inflicted  by  his  predecessor  in  office. 
Disappointed  in  this  expectation  he  returned  to  Paris  ; 
but  in  the  autumn  of  the  same  year  he  was  again 
in  England,  having  been  encouraged  to  believe  that, 
now  that  Chatham  was  prime  minister  and  Grafton 
first  lord  of  the  treasury,  the  years  he  had  spent  in 
exile  would  be  taken  as  an  expiation  of  his  guilt, 
and  that  he  would  be  pardoned  for  an  offence  which 
might  with  advantage  have  been  left  unpunished. 
Such    an   expectation   was   certainly   neither   rash 


220    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

nor  unfounded.  Chatham,  while  unhesitatingly  dis- 
claiming any  sympathy  with  the  man  whom  he 
characteristically  described  as  the  libeller  of  his  king 
and  the  blasphemer  of  his  God,  had  affirmed  his  belief 
that  the  offence  of  seditious  libel  was  covered  by 
parliamentary  privilege;  and,  now  that  he  was  in 
office,  might  be  expected  to  redress  the  wrong  which 
had  been  inflicted.  Grafton,  moreover,  had  sought 
admission  to  Wilkes  when  a  prisoner  in  the  Tower  ; 
and  Conway,  deserting  the  court  of  which  he  had 
formerly  been  a  supporter,  had  fought  on  his  behalf 
in  the  parliamentary  battle.  From  such  ministers 
Wilkes  naturally  expected  forgiveness ;  and  his 
appeal  to  Grafton  was  couched  in  studiously  moderate 
language.  "  I  now  hope,"  he  wrote,  "  that  the  rigour 
of  a  long  unmerited  exile  is  past  ;  and  that  I  may  be 
allowed  to  continue  in  the  land  and  among  the  friends 
of  liberty.  I  wish,  my  lord,  to  owe  this  to  the  mercy 
of  my  prince.  I  entreat  your  grace  to  lay  me  with  all 
humility  at  the  king's  feet :  with  the  truest  assurances 
that  I  have  never,  in  any  moment  of  my  life,  swerved 
from  the  duty  and  allegiance  I  owe  to  my  sovereign  ; 
and  that  I  implore,  and  in  everything  submit  to, 
his  majesty's  clemency."  1 

Much  trouble  in  the  future  would  have  been  averted 
if  this  prayer  for  pardon  had  been  granted,  and  it  was 
little  short  of  a  catastrophe  to  the  administration 
that  a  favourable  opportunity  of  rendering  Wilkes 
innocuous  was  missed.  As  in  duty  bound,  Grafton 
submitted  the  outlaw's  appeal  to  both  the  king  and 
Chatham.  George  III.,  who  was  a  good  hater,  and 
never  ready  to  forgive  those  who  had  wounded  his 
pride,    remained    ominously    silent ;     and    Chatham, 

1  Aim  on' s  Memoirs  of  John  Wilkes,  3,  178-180;    Grafton's  Autobiography, 
pp.  192-193. 


THE  RESIGNATION  OF  CHATHAM  221 

complaining  that  it  was  a  troublesome  business,  ad- 
vised Grafton  not  to  take  any  decisive  step.  It  was 
hardly  necessary  to  give  such  advice  to  one  who  had 
all  the  love  of  a  weak  man  for  inaction  ;  and  Wilkes 
was  justifiably  chagrined  on  receiving,  in  answer  to 
his  letter,  only  a  verbal  message  from  Grafton,  recom- 
mending him  to  apply  to  Chatham.  Such  a  response 
could  only  mean  that  the  ministers  were  not  prepared 
to  embroil  themselves  with  the  court  for  the  sake  of 
the  man  who  had  wrongly  thought  them  to  be  his 
friends  ;  *  and,  as  a  sojourn  in  England  on  sufferance 
[for  he  could  be  arrested  at  any  moment  as  a  returned 
outlaw]  was  no  part  of  Wilkes'  programme,  he  departed 
again  for  Paris,  to  brood  over  the  new  wrong  he  had 
suffered,  and  to  meditate  a  revenge  upon  the  men 
whom  he  hated  all  the  more  bitterly  from  having 
being  deceived  in  them. 

It  is  difficult  to  avoid  the  conclusion  that  Chatham 
had  missed  a  great  opportunity,  and  committed  a 
blunder  which  was  to  bear  a  plentiful  crop  of  mischief. 
Worthless  as  Wilkes  was  in  many  respects,  he  had 
undeniably  endured  many  undeserved  hardships,  and 
had  earned  a  pardon,  not  by  his  own  merits,  but  by 
the  wrong-doings  of  his  enemies.  The  warrant  under 
which  he  had  been  originally  arrested  had  been  declared 
illegal  by  the  chief  justice  of  the  common  pleas  ;  he 
had  been  expelled  from  the  house  of  commons  by  a 
majority  in  the  pay  of  the  court  ;  he  had  been  tried 
and  convicted  in  his  absence,  and  had  suffered  attack 
by  every  weapon  which  authority,  spite,  and  chicanery 
could  use  against  him.  If  he  had  sinned,  he  had 
also  been  deeply  sinned  against ;  and  a  royal  pardon 
would  have  been  an  act  of  atonement  as  well  as  a 

1  Almon's  Memoirs  of  John  Wilkes,  3,  184  seq.  ;   Grafton's  Autobiography, 
P-  193- 


222     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

politic  exercise  of  the  prerogative  of  mercy.  To  have 
pardoned  Wilkes  would  have  been  the  most  effective 
way  of  destroying  his  influence,  for  the  populace 
might  be  trusted  quickly  to  forget  that  the  man,  who 
had  deigned  to  profit  by  the  clemency  of  the  crown, 
had  once  been  the  victim  of  royal  oppression  and  the 
champion  of  the  freedom  of  Englishmen.  Nothing 
perishes  so  easily  as  a  demagogue's  reputation,  and  the 
far-seeing  statesman  would  have  advised  the  king 
to  extend  to  his  adversary  the  pity  akin  to  contempt. 
By  taking  refuge  in  inaction,  Chatham  stands  convicted 
of  having  failed  to  do  his  duty  as  adviser  of  the  crown. 
No  man  was  better  fitted  to  plead  the  cause  of  Wilkes 
before  the  throne  ;  and  to  treat  it  as  a  troublesome 
business,  best  left  alone,  was  to  push  caution  to  the 
verge  of  timidity  and  sloth.  A  golden  opportunity 
was  missed,  and  the  peace  of  English  political  life 
was  to  be  rudely  disturbed,  because  an  administration, 
which  had  no  support  but  the  royal  favour,  did  not 
dare  to  thwart  the  personal  wishes  of  the  king. 

The  consequences  of  the  blunder  were  not  slow 
in  revealing  themselves.  The  unforgiven  Wilkes  did 
not  forgive,  and  was  lavishly  equipped  by  nature  for 
the  work  of  revenge.  All  that  a  bitter  tongue,  a  ready 
pen,  and  a  brazen  audacity  could  effect  was  within 
his  power,  and,  having  nothing  to  lose  and  everything 
to  gain,  he  was  prepared  to  push  the  contest  to  the 
bitter  end.  For  a  while  he  kept  silence,  and  it  was 
not  until  December,  1767,  that  he  declared  open  war 
upon  the  ministry,  his  ultimatum  taking  the  form  of 
a  letter  to  the  Duke  of  Grafton.  Throwing  prudence 
and  moderation  to  the  winds,  he  returned  in  this 
epistle  to  that  virulent  style  which  best  suited  him, 
and  by  which  he  had  first  won  a  name.  Upon  Chatham 
he  emptied  the  vials  of  his  wrath,  denouncing  him  as 


THE  RESIGNATION  OF  CHATHAM  223 

a  "  proud,  insolent,  overbearing,  ambitious  man," 
insensible  to  the  charm  of  private  friendship,  the 
"  first  comedian  of  our  age,"  and  so  odiously  hypo- 
critical as  to  condemn  in  public  the  obscenity  which 
he  loved  in  private.1  These  baseless  accusations 
give  the  measure  at  once  both  of  Wilkes'  anger  and 
veracity  ;  but,  with  all  his  defects,  he  was  of  too  high 
a  spirit  to  use  the  weapon  of  slander  alone  ;  and,  a 
few  weeks  after  dispatching  the  letter,  he  started 
for  England,  arriving  there  in  February,  1768. 

Such  an  advent  boded  no  good  for  the  ministers  ; 
and,  though  they  had  their  adversary  within  their 
power,  they  were  by  no  means  eager  to  begin  the 
conflict.  They  were  well  aware  that  the  most  effective 
and  expeditious  way  of  reviving  the  dimmed  lustre 
of  Wilkes'  popularity  would  be  to  renew  the  attack 
upon  him  ;  and,  neither  prepared  to  pardon  nor  to 
persecute,  they  took  refuge  in  the  middle,  and  rather 
futile,  course  of  doing  nothing.  The  days  passed  by, 
and  no  hand  was  raised  against  the  returned  outlaw 
who  was  thus  threatened  with  the  oblivion  which  is 
worse  than  the  tomb  for  the  heroes  of  the  popular 
fancy.  Against  a  less  adroit  and  accomplished  an- 
tagonist this  policy  might  possibly  have  been  crowned 
with  success,  but  Wilkes  was  far  too  experienced 
an  adventurer  to  fall  headlong  into  the  first  trap  laid 
in  his  path.  Realising  that  nothing  could  be  more 
dangerous  than  the  precarious  and  somewhat  con- 
temptuous immunity  that  he  enjoyed,  he  determined 
to  precipitate  a  conflict  by  challenging  the  government 
to  open  combat  :  and  he  had  not  long  to  wait  before 
throwing  down  the  glove.  The  opportunity  he  needed 
was  given  by  the  general  election,  and,  with  character- 
istic  effrontery,    the   returned   outlaw   came   forward 

1  Almon's  Memoir  of  John  Wilkes,  3,  184  seq. 


224    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

as  one  of  the  candidates  for  election  by  the  city  of 
London.  His  audacity  served  him  well,  for,  though 
he  failed  to  be  elected,  he  once  more  brought  himself 
before  the  public,  and  was  given  ample  assurance 
that  he  could  still  confidently  count  upon  the  popular 
favour.  Though  regarded  with  scant  goodwill  by 
the  wealthy  city  magnates,  he  was  enthusiastically 
supported  by  the  mob  and  the  more  humble  of  the 
electors  ;  *  and,  encouraged  by  his  experience,  he  stood 
for  the  county  of  Middlesex  which  returned  him  in 
triumph  at  the  head  of  the  poll.  Great  as  such  a 
victory  was,  Wilkes  had  done  far  more  than  simply 
secure  a  seat  in  the  new  parliament :  once  more  he 
was  the  hero  of  the  hour,  the  darling  of  the  rabble  who 
expressed,  as  usual,  their  enthusiasm  for  the  principles 
of  liberty  in  riot  and  disorder.  For  two  nights  the 
metropolis  was  in  the  hands  of  a  mob,  hoarsely  shouting 
for  "  Wilkes  and  Liberty,"  and  wreaking  vengeance 
against  all  who  refused  to  participate  in  their  rejoicings. 
The  Austrian  ambassador,  the  staidest  and  most 
ceremonious  of  men,  was  dragged  from  his  carriage 
to  have  the  sacred  number,  forty-five,  chalked  upon 
the  soles  of  his  shoes  ;  and  householders  who,  in- 
fluenced either  by  frugality  or  their  political  opinions, 
refrained  from  illuminating  in  honour  of  the  popular 
victory,  were  punished  by  having  their  windows 
broken.  Against  the  Scotch,  whom  Wilkes  had  so 
bitterly  and  so  ungenerously  attacked,  the  mob  was 
particularly  violent.  An  assault  was  directed  against 
Lord  Bute's  house ;  and  the  beautiful  Dowager 
Duchess  of  Hamilton,  having  loyally  refused,  as  the 
widow  of  one  Scotchman  and  the  wife  of  another,  to 
illuminate  in  honour  of  the  enemy  of  her  adopted 
nation,  was  compelled  to  stand  a  siege  of  three  hours, 

1  Walpole's  Memoirs,  3,  126. 


THE  RESIGNATION  OF  CHATHAM  225 

during  which  the  assailants  broke  down  the  outer 
gates,  poured  into  the  courtyard,  and  hammered  upon 
the  closed  doors  and  shutters.1 

This  popular  demonstration  was  a  significant 
warning  to  the  ministers  of  the  difficulties  of  the 
situation  into  which  they  had  been  driven  by  their 
cunning  and  unscrupulous  adversary.  Wilkes  was 
now  more  popular  than  ever,  and  through  him  the 
people  had  voiced  their  discontent  against  the  govern- 
ment. By  a  profligate  expenditure  of  money,  the 
administration  had  rendered  itself  invulnerable  against 
attack  within  the  walls  of  parliament  ;  but  one  of  the 
most  important  constituencies  in  the  kingdom  had 
declared  for  the  man  who  had  nothing  to  recommend 
him  save  that  he  was  an  enemy  of  the  court  and  the 
ministry  ;  and  the  choice  was  invested  with  a  deep 
constitutional  significance.  "  Mr  Wilkes'  success," 
wrote  the  Duke  of  Richmond,  "is  an  event  which, 
I  think,  must  produce  something.  .  .  .  For  my  part 
I  confess  that,  although  I  hate  a  mob  that  rises 
against  order,  and  acts  by  force,  I  am  not  sorry  that 
the  ministry  should  see  that  there  is  in  the  people  a 
spirit  of  liberty  that  will  show  itself  on  proper  occasions, 
as  in  the  choice  of  their  members.  For  whatever  men 
may  think  of  Mr  Wilkes'  private  character,  he  has 
carried  his  election  by  being  supposed  a  friend  to 
liberty  ;  and  I  think  it  will  show  the  administration 
that,  though  they  may  buy  lords  and  commons,  and 
carry  on  their  measures  smoothly  in  parliament, 
yett  (sic)  they  are  not  so  much  approved  of  by  the 
nation." 2  Almost  identically  the  same  sentiments 
were  echoed  by  Newcastle  who  declared  that  "  it  should 
be  known  that  the  nation  is  not  satisfied  with  the 

1  Walpole's  Memoirs,  3,  128  fif.  ;   Letters,  7,  176-179. 

2  Add.  MS.,  32989,  f.  294. 


226    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

present  proceedings ;  and  when  that  is  universally- 
known,  which  appears  very  plainly  now,  I  doubt 
not  but  by  the  present  complexion  of  the  new  parlia- 
ment, there  will  be  spirit  enough  to  take  up  the  causes 
of  the  present  dissatisfaction  in  a  proper  legal  and 
effectual  manner."  x 

Thus,  arrned  in  the  panoply  of  popular  applause, 
Wilkes  proceeded  to  wage  war  against  the  ministry  ; 
but,  before  he  could  strike  a  really  effective  blow,  it 
was  necessary  that  he  should  pay  homage  to  the  law 
of  the  land  which  he  daily  defied  by  his  presence  in 
England.  No  sooner  had  he  been  returned  for 
Middlesex  than  he  surrendered  to  his  outlawry,  and 
appeared  before  the  court  of  king's  bench  on  April 
20th.  Great  was  the  popular  excitement,  and  every 
precaution  was  taken  by  the  authorities  to  guard 
against  a  riot.  Addressing  the  court  in  a  carefully 
prepared  and  written  speech,  which  he  afterwards 
published,  Wilkes  pleaded  for  the  reversal  of  his  out- 
lawry on  the  ground  that  it  was  technically  invalid, 
and  also  contended  that  he  had  been  wrongfully 
and  illegally  convicted  of  libel.  As  it  happened,  he 
might  have  spared  himself  the  fatigue  of  this  lengthy 
exposition,  for  Lord  Mansfield  ruled  from  the  bench 
that  the  court  could  take  no  cognisance  of  the  case, 
the  prisoner  having  been  guilty  of  the  gross  informality 
of  a  voluntary  surrender  to  his  outlawry  instead  of 
waiting  to  be  arrested  by  a  writ  issued  by  the  attorney- 
general.2     This  paradoxical  situation  of  a  refugee  from 

1  Add.  MS.,  32989,  f.  299. 

2  "  After  some  arguments  about  the  outlawry,"  wrote  George  Onslow 
to  Newcastle,  "  Lord  Mansfield  and  his  three  associates  declared  against  the 
manner  of  his  appearance  there,  and,  by  what  I  hear,  bore  hard  upon  the 
attorney-general  for  not  having  issued  his  capias  against  him,  on  his  first 
appearing  in  England,  and  all  agreed  that  the  court  was  not  the  proper  place 
to  issue  any  order  for  his  seizure.     There  may  be  more  law  in  that  than  there 


THE  RESIGNATION  OF  CHATHAM  227 

justice  vainly  endeavouring  to  secure  a  trial  was  not, 
however,  of  long  continuance ;  and,  the  necessary 
writ  having  been  issued,  Wilkes  was  promptly  arrested, 
and  committed  to  prison.  The  question  of  his  out- 
lawry was  argued  before  the  king's  bench  on  May  7th  ; 
but  again  the  matter  was  left  in  suspense,  Lord 
Mansfield  deferring  judgment  until  the  following  term.1 
Unpleasing  as  such  delay  was  to  Wilkes  who,  unless 
his  outlawry  was  reversed,  had  nothing  to  look  forward 
to  but  life-long  imprisonment,  it  was  almost  equally 
objectionable  to  the  ministers  who,  until  they  were 
more  precisely  informed  as  to  Wilkes'  exact  legal 
position,  were  precluded  from  taking  any  action  against 
him.  That  they  were  indignant  at  the  outrage  which 
he  had  inflicted  upon  them  is  beyond  all  doubt.  Even 
Lord  Camden,  who  was  afterwards  to  play  a  very 
different  role,  was  aghast  at  Wilkes'  effrontery  ; 2  and 
both  the  king  and  the  Bedford  party  in  the  cabinet 
clamoured  for  the  offender's  immediate  expulsion  from 
parliament.3  It  is,  therefore,  quite  probable  that  the 
attack  upon  the  member  for  Middlesex  would  have 
been  begun  directly  the  new  parliament  assembled, 
had  it  not  been  for  Lord  Mansfield's  delay  which 
rendered  it  difficult  to  assign  a  cause  for  his  expulsion. 
Not  until  the  outlawry  had  either  been  confirmed  or 
reversed  was  it  possible  to  proceed  with  the  further 
question  of  the  legality   of   Wilkes'  conviction  ;    for, 

is  reason,  but  the  consequence  was  Wilkes  went  unmolested  out  of  court." 
Add.  MS.,  32989,  f.  367  ;  see  also  Add.  MS.,  32989,  f.  363  ;  Walpole's  Letters 
7,  184-186;  Walpole's  Memoirs,  3,  134. 

1  Add.  MS.,  32990,  f.  25. 

2  "  A  criminal  flying  his  country  to  escape  justice — a  convict  and  an  out- 
law— that  such  a  person  should  in  open  daylight  thrust  himself  upon  the 
country  as  a  candidate,  his  crime  unexpiated,  is  audacious  beyond  description." 
Grafton's  Autobiography,  pp.  199-200. 

3  Correspondence  of  George  III.  with  Lord  North,  1,2:  Walpole's  Memoirs, 
3,  142  :   Grafton's  Autobiography,  pp.  199-200. 


228     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

as  Camden  pointed  out,  "  Mr  Wilkes  stands  at  present 
convicted  only  by  verdict  :  and  if  there  shall  appear 
to  be  any  material  defect  in  the  record  .  .  .  the 
judgment  must  be  stayed :  in  which  case  he  must 
be  discharged,  and  he  becomes  a  free  man  upon  this 
prosecution,  as  much  as  if  he  had  never  been  convicted."1 
There  was,  therefore,  a  possibility  that  Wilkes  might 
be  restored  to  his  full  rights  as  an  English  subject  ; 
and  if  the  ministers,  refusing  to  await  developments, 
proceeded  against  him  as  an  outlaw  and  a  criminal, 
they  might  find  themselves  brought  into  summary 
conflict  with  the  judgment  of  the  court.  Thus,  every 
sound  argument  was  on  the  side  of  politic  procrastina- 
tion ;  and,  in  spite  of  the  protests  of  the  followers  of 
Bute  and  Bedford,2  it  was  decided,  at  a  meeting  held 
on  May  7th  at  the  house  of  Lord  North,  who  had 
superseded  Conway  as  leader  of  the  house  of  commons,3 
that  no  action  should  be  taken  against  Wilkes  until 
the  autumn  session.  This  policy  was  approved  by 
Camden,  Grafton,  Conway,  and  Granby,  among  the 
ministers,4  and,  indeed,  by  all  men  except  those  who 
were  prepared  to  incur  every  risk  in  order  to  gratify 
their  malice ;  and  when  parliament,  which  had 
assembled  early  in  May,  was  prorogued  from  June 
2 1st  until  the  following  autumn,5  no  hostile  action  had 
been  taken  against  the  man  who  had  so  openly  braved 
the  anger  of  the  administration. 

1  Grafton's  Autobiography,  pp.  200-201. 

2  Add.  MS.,  32990,  f.  71,  f.  83  ;   Walpole's  Memoirs,  3,  142. 

3  On  January  1st,  Whately,  in  a  letter  to  Grenville,  repeated  a  rumour 
that  North,  not  Conway,  was  to  lead  the  lower  house  ;  and  although  Walpole 
asserts  that  Conway  "  remained,  as  much  as  he  would,  a  leader  in  the  house 
of  commons,"  it  is  quite  clear  that  that  minister  retired  more  or  less  into  the 
background,  and  that  the  business  of  managing  the  house  was  entrusted  to 
the  chancellor  of  the  exchequer.  Grenville  Papers,  4,  240-249  ;  Walpole's 
Memoirs,  3,  107. 

*  Add.  MS.,  32990,  f.  63,  f.  71  ;  Walpole's  Memoir •>,  3,  142. 
5  Grafton's  Autobiography,  pp.  202-203,  209-211. 


THE  RESIGNATION  OF  CHATHAM  229 

If  the  adherents  of  Bute  and  Bedford  professed 
disgust  at  what  they  conceived  to  be  the  cowardice 
of  the  government,  the  Rockingham  whigs  were  more 
genially  disposed,  and  had  no  fault  to  find  with  the 
policy  of  delay.  Indeed,  it  suited  their  purpose  well 
enough ;  for,  though  Richmond  and  Newcastle  might 
hail  Wilkes  as  the  morning  star  of  freedom,  both  they 
and  their  friends  knew  quite  well  that  he  had  already 
once  proved  himself  a  fruitful  source  of  discord  in 
their  ranks,  and  might  well  do  so  again.  Aware  that 
the  first  session  of  the  new  parliament  would  not  be 
of  very  long  duration,  they  desired  to  refrain  from 
active  opposition  ; 1  and  their  fear  had  been  that  Wilkes 
might  be  used  as  a  whip  to  drive  them  into  the  open 
against  their  will.  Meeting  Grafton  at  Newmarket, 
Rockingham  endeavoured  to  glean  from  him  the  plan 
of  the  ministerial  campaign  ;  but  received  so  cryptic  an 
answer  that,  to  quote  Lord  Hardwicke,  "  if  any  English 
could  be  picked  out  of  what  he  did  say,  it  was  that 
nothing  was  fixed."  2  The  suspense  continued  until 
the  meeting  of  parliament ;  but  when  the  speech  from 
the  throne  made  no  mention  of  the  member  for 
Middlesex,  the  significant  omission  was  rightly  inter- 
preted as  meaning  that  nothing  was  to  be  done  for 
the  present.  "  I  must  most  seriously  congratulate 
your  lordship,"  wrote  Newcastle  to  Rockingham,  the 
day  after  the  meeting  of  parliament,  "  upon  the  happy 
conclusion  of  this  short  session  (for  I  look  upon  it  as 
over)  without  doing  any  mischief.     I  think  my  Lord 

1  "  I  have  thoroughly  examined  and  considered  the  state  of  all  the  new 
members,"  wrote  Newcastle  to  Portland  on  April  nth,  "  and  if  we  can  avoid 
doing  any  business  upon  the  return  of  the  writs,  except  chusing  the  speaker  ; 
and  consequently  entering  upon  the  affair  of  Wilkes,  upon  which  there  will 
certainly  be  differences  of  opinion,  even  amongst  ourselves,  we  shall,  I  think, 
the  next  sessions  make  a  very  good  figure."     Add.  MS.,  32989,  f.  319. 

2  Add.  MS.,  32990,  f.  1  ;  Rockingham  Memoirs,  2,  67-68  ;  see  also  Add. 
MS.,  32989,  f.  319. 


230     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

Bute  .  .  .  has  met  with  the  greatest  disappointment 
that  ever  favourite  met  with.  His  view  certainly  was 
to  have  blown  up  this  little  session  with  the  affair  of 
Wilkes ;  whereas,  as  it  now  stands,  Wilkes'  affair 
need  not  give  us  any  trouble,  except  next  winter  we 
should  make  it  our  own  choice.  Wilkes  will  be  half 
forgot  before  that  time."  x 

On  this  occasion  Newcastle  did  not  show  himself 
a  sagacious  political  prophet,  for  Wilkes  was  not  to 
fall  into  the  oblivion  to  which  Grafton  and  the 
Rockingham  whigs  would  have  so  readily  consigned 
him.  He  had  all  the  genius  of  the  successful  demagogue 
in  keeping  himself  prominently  before  the  public ; 
and  his  very  misfortunes  gave  him  the  notoriety  which 
he  so  eagerly  coveted,  and  which  he  was  to  use  with 
such  deadly  effect. 

By  the  end  of  June  the  court  of  king's  bench  had 
pronounced  judgment  upon  him.  His  outlawry  was 
reversed  upon  technical  grounds ;  but,  failing  in  his 
attempt  to  secure  the  quashing  of  his  previous  con- 
viction, he  was  sentenced  to  imprisonment  for  two 
years  and  the  payment  of  a  substantial  fine.  Thus, 
his  legal  position  was  defined,  and  when  the  ministers 
met  parliament  in  the  autumn  session,  they  would  have 
no  excuse  for  further  delay,  and  would  be  compelled 
to  decide  upon  a  definite  course  of  action.  Policy,  as 
well  as  generosity,  dictated  that  they  should  refrain 
from  inflicting  any  further  penalty  upon  the  man  who 
had  already  been  more  than  sufficiently  punished  ; 
but,  with  the  king  and  the  Bedford  party  clamouring 
for  expulsion  and  talking  vainly  about  the  dignity 
of  parliament,  it  was  almost  inevitable  that  revenge 

1  Add.  MS.,  32990,  f.  39.  Rockingham,  however,  was  not  quite  so  sanguine, 
remarking,  in  his  reply  to  Newcastle,  "  I  don't  yet  think  but  that  the  business 
of  Wilkes  in  some  shape  or  other  may  still  come  on,  but  it  is  doubtful.  By 
Monday  night  we  may  know."     Add.  MS.,  32990,  f.  45. 


THE  RESIGNATION  OF  CHATHAM  231 

should  triumph  over  wisdom.  Grafton,  lacking  in 
stability  and  conviction,  would  bend  once  more  to 
the  storm  ;  and  the  placemen  and  pensioners  in  the 
pay  of  the  court  would  eagerly  join  in  the  hunt  of  one 
who,  whatever  his  faults,  was  not  at  least  so  base 
as  the  majority  of  his  pursuers.  Yet  the  most  ele- 
mentary foresight  ought  to  have  made  the  ministers 
pause  before  attacking  the  man  who  had  so  deftly 
struck  the  popular  imagination.  The  re-appearance 
of  Wilkes  had  been  the  signal  for  riot  and  disorder 
which  had  not  been  confined  to  the  ranks  of  his 
supporters  ;  and  it  needed  no  prophet  to  foretell  that 
his  expulsion  from  parliament  would  increase  the 
odium  in  which  the  government  was  held.  An  ad- 
ministration, well-established  in  the  confidence  of  the 
country,  renowned  for  its  strength,  and  illustrious 
by  its  achievements,  might  well  have  hesitated  before 
undertaking  such  a  task ;  and  there  is  something 
tragic  in  the  circumstance  that,  while  Grafton  and  his 
colleagues  were  girding  their  loins  to  punish  the  man 
who  had  dared  to  appeal  to  the  nation,  they  were 
simultaneously  displaying,  as  fully  as  their  bitterest 
enemies  could  have  desired,  their  complete  inability 
to  maintain  the  influence  and  prestige  of  England 
abroad.  Largely  by  reason  of  their  weak  and  faltering 
foreign  policy,  their  divided  counsels,  and  lack  of 
harmony,  Corsica,  which  had  rebelled  against  the 
Genoese  rule,  was  allowed  to  pass  into  the  hands  of 
France  ;  and,  though  not  annexed  to  the  Bourbon 
kingdom  until  1769,  all  hope  of  preserving  its  inde- 
pendence had  vanished  before  the  end  of  the  year 
1768.  It  has  been  urged  that  the  importance  of  this 
acquisition  has  been  unduly  magnified,  and  it  is 
possible  to  advance  many  sound  arguments  in  support 
of  such  a  contention  ;    but,  at  the  same  time,  it  ought 


232     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

not  to  be  forgotten  that  most  Englishmen  viewed  with 
suspicion  and  alarm  every  increase  in  the  influence 
of  France  ;  and  it  is  not  altogether  without  importance 
that,  in  the  conquest  of  Corsica,  Choiseul  saw  some 
compensation  for  the  loss  of  Canada. 

Of  far  greater  moment,  however,  than  the  sub- 
jugation by  France  of  an  island  in  the  Mediterranean, 
was  the  course  of  events  in  the  colonies.  There  the 
seed  sown  by  Charles  Townshend  in  his  haste  was 
beginning  to  bear  a  bitter  and  deadly  crop  ;  and, 
what  anyone  might  have  foreseen,  had  come  to  pass. 
Townshend,  making  the  mistake  of  a  clever  man, 
thought  that  he  had  driven  the  Americans  into  a  corner 
by  showing  them  that  external  taxation,  to  which  they 
had  professed  themselves  ready  to  submit,  could  be 
made  to  yield  a  revenue  ;  but  they,  wisely  realising 
that  freedom  was  a  far  greater  thing  than  logic, 
promptly  repudiated  a  theory  so  skilfully  converted 
into  a  weapon  against  their  liberty.  When  the  in- 
habitants of  the  town  of  Boston  learnt  that  the  revenue 
bill  had  become  law,  and  that  officers  had  been  ap- 
pointed to  enforce  it,  they  assembled  in  a  town  meeting, 
and,  entering  upon  a  non-importation  agreement, 
pledged  themselves  to  discourage  in  every  way  the 
importation  of  commodities  from  abroad.  This 
shrewd  blow,  aimed  at  the  English  merchants  who 
would  thus  be  deprived  of  a  profitable  trade,  was 
followed  up  by  the  assembly  of  Massachusetts  petition- 
ing the  king  and  parliament  against  this  new  infringe- 
ment of  the  principle  of  no  taxation  without  repre- 
sentation ;  and,  what  was  of  far  more  questionable 
legality,  addressing  a  circular  letter  to  the  other 
colonial  assemblies,  calling  upon  them  to  unite  in 
resisting  the  aggressions  of  the  mother  country. 

Thus,  the  conflict  begun  by  Grenville's  ill-advised 


THE  RESIGNATION  OF  CHATHAM  233 

stamp  act  was  renewed,  and  the  evil  wrought  by 
Charles  Townshend,  during  his  brief  career  as  chancellor 
of  the  exchequer,  lived  after  him.  Once  more  the 
authority  of  the  mother  country  was  called  into 
question,  and  the  ministry  can  hardly  be  blamed  for 
seeking  to  quell  the  spirit  of  resistance  by  stern 
measures  of  repression  ;  for  no  other  course  was  open 
to  them,  unless  they  were  prepared  to  treat  the  de- 
claratory act  as  so  much  wastepaper,  and  to  allow 
that  England  had  no  right  to  take  a  penny  out  of  the 
pockets  of  the  colonists  without  their  consent.  Such 
a  surrender  of  principle,  however,  was  hardly  possible  ; 
for  even  those,  who  sympathised  with  the  colonists, 
and  had  assisted  to  repeal  the  stamp  act,  were  taken 
aback  by  the  action  of  the  Massachusetts  Assembly, 
Newcastle  mournfully  reflecting  that  "  these  New 
England  people  always  were  a  refractory  people," 
and  Sir  George  Savile  almost  coming  to  the  opinion 
'  that  George  Grenville's  act  only  brought  on  a  crisis 
twenty,  or  possibly  fifty,  years  sooner  than  was 
necessary." x  Yet,  if  a  coercive  policy  had  to  be 
adopted,  it  would  be  of  little  use  unless  it  was 
successful  in  securing  obedience  ;  and  it  was  a  dis- 
aster for  the  ministers  that  their  measures  failed  to 
attain  the  end  for  which  they  were  designed.  The 
Massachusetts  assembly  met  the  demand  of  the  govern- 
ment for  the  withdrawal  of  the  circular  letter  by  a 
definite  refusal,  and  paid  the  price  of  its  disobedience 
by  being  dissolved  ;  but  this  was  no  solution  of  the 
colonial  problem,  and  that  the  ministry  recognised 
how  critical  the  situation  was  is  shown  by  the  dispatch 
of  two  regiments  to  Massachusetts  Bay.  The  most 
superficial  observer  could  hardly  fail  to  perceive  the 
magnitude  of  the  danger,  for  the  unrest  in  the  province 

1  Add.  MS.,  32990,  f.  340  ;   Rockingham  Memoirs,  2,  75-76. 


234     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

of  Massachusetts  might  easily  spread  to  the  other 
colonies  ;  and  the  money  market  revealed  the  state 
of  public  opinion.  Stocks  began  to  fall,  and  capitalists, 
distrustful  of  the  ability  of  the  government  to  cope 
with  the  evils  of  the  day,  preferred  to  allow  their 
money  to  lie  idle  at  the  bank  rather  than  run  the  risk 
of  investment.1 

Threatened  thus  by  troubles  abroad  as  well  as  at 
home,  Grafton  must  have  viewed  with  little  satis- 
faction the  approach  of  the  autumn  session,  when  his 
conduct  might  be  subjected  to  a  searching  criticism  ; 
and  it  is  not  surprising  that  he  resolved  to  remove, 
before  the  meeting  of  parliament,  a  dangerous  element 
of  dissension  from  the  cabinet.  The  victim  marked 
out  for  sacrifice  was  Lord  Shelburne.  For  many 
months  past  Grafton  had  regarded  him  with  a  growing 
antipathy  which  was  fully  shared  by  the  king  and  the 
Bedford  party  in  the  cabinet ; 2  and  if  this  antagonism 
was  partly  due  to  Shelburne's  unfortunate  capacity 
for  inspiring  distrust  and  suspicion  in  the  minds  of 
those  with  whom  he  came  into  close  contact,  it  must 
also  be  remembered  that  he  profoundly  disagreed 
with  the  majority  of  his  colleagues  on  most  of  the 
important  questions  of  the  day,  and  had  endured 
slights  and  indignities  more  than  sufficient  to  wound 
a  man  of  less  pride  and  temper.  Studiously  abstaining 
from  attendance  at  cabinet  councils,  he  had  watched 
in  silence,  but  not  without  indignation,  the  triumph 
of  a  policy  which  he  did  not  approve.  Deploring  the 
failure  of  the  ministry  to  defend  Corsica  against  French 
aggression,  and  now  convinced  that  all  modes  of  taxing 
i\.merica  were  illegal,  he  had  little  in  common  with  his 
fellow  ministers  ;  and,  as  early  as  the  month  of  Septem- 

1  Grenville  Papers,  4,  359-360  ;   see  also  321-322. 

2  Grafton's  Autobiography,  213,  215  ;   Walpole's  Memoirs,  3,  150-151. 


THE  RESIGNATION  OF  CHATHAM  235 

ber,  1768,  Grafton  had  determined  upon  his  removal  at 
the  first  convenient  opportunity. 

In  considering  the  practicability  of  this  resolve 
Grafton  realised  that  no  opposition  would  come  from 
the  court  or  the  Bedford  faction  in  the  cabinet  ;  but  if 
he  thought  that  the  expulsion  would  be  unattended  with 
difficulty,  he  reckoned  without  the  absent  leader  of  the 
government,  Lord  Chatham.  Secluded  at  Hayes,  whither 
he  had  gone  when  wearied  of  Hampstead,  Chatham 
was  gradually,  though  very  slowly,  recovering  from 
that  mental  depression  which  had  driven  him  into 
isolation  ;  and,  as  he  slowly  struggled  back  to  health, 
he  watched  with  anger  and  dismay  the  course  pursued 
by  his  subordinates.  His  silence  is  no  indication 
that  he  was  ignorant  of  what  was  happening  ;  and 
bitterly  did  he  resent  what  he  believed  to  be  a  betrayal 
of  trust  on  the  part  of  Grafton.  By  his  admission  of 
the  Bedfords  into  the  cabinet,  by  his  failure  to  check 
French  ambition,  and  by  permitting  the  revival  of 
the  colonial  dispute,  Grafton  had  filled  his  cup  of 
iniquity  to  the  brim ;  and  the  determination  to 
remove  Shelburne  was  the  overflowing  drop  in  the 
already  too  well-filled  flagon.  On  nearly  every  point 
where  Shelburne  differed  from  his  colleagues  he  was  in 
agreement  with  Chatham  ;  and  the  latter,  confronted 
with  the  prospect  of  losing  one  of  the  only  two  men  in 
the  cabinet  who  possessed  his  confidence,  resigned  his 
office  of  privy  seal,  his  example  being  followed  by 
Shelburne  who  thus,  by  a  timely  retreat,  escaped  the 
ignominy  of  expulsion. 

So,  in  attempting  to  set  his  house  in  order,  Grafton 
had  seriously  loosened  the  fabric  of  the  structure  ; 
and,  indeed,  had  lost  far  more  than  he  had  gained. 
The  removal  of  Shelburne  might  promote  a  greater 
degree  of  ministerial  unity,  but  it  would  also  have  the 


236    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

effect  of  throwing  more  power  into  the  hands  of  the 
Bedfords,  with  whose  colonial  policy  Lord  Rochford, 
the  new  secretary  of  state  in  place  of  Shelburne,  was 
to  show  himself  in  entire  sympathy.1  The  resignation 
of  Chatham,  moreover,  was,  inevitably,  a  serious  blow 
to  the  prestige  of  the  administration.  It  could  not 
be  explained  away  as  arising  from  ill-health,  for  he 
had  long  been  incapacitated  from  attending  to  business  ; 
and  the  only  possible  interpretation  was  that  it  was 
a  public  repudiation  of  the  ministerial  policy,  and  a 
declaration  of  war  against  the  government  of  which  he 
had  laid  the  foundations.  No  explanation,  however 
skilful,  could  disguise  the  fact  that  the  greatest  and 
most  popular  statesman  of  the  day  had  disowned  his 
own  creatures  ;  and  the  administration,  already  shaken 
to  its  foundations,  and  confronted  with  a  gigantic 
task,  was  still  further  discredited  in  the  eyes  of  the 
nation. 

The  Duke  of  Grafton  might  well  feel  deeply  hurt  and 
chagrined  at  such  a  public  rebuff  by  the  man  whom 
he  had  striven  faithfully,  if  mistakenly,  to  serve  ; 
but  he  was  not  the  only  member  of  the  cabinet  who  had 
reason  to  regret  Chatham's  action.  Lord  Camden 
could  not  but  be  deeply  affected  by  the  loss  of  his  old 
schoolfellow  and  life-long  friend  ;  and,  for  a  short  time, 
it  seemed  likely  that  a  new  lord  chancellor  would  have 
to  be  discovered.  For  many  weeks  past,  Camden  had, 
been  discontented  with  his  situation,  complaining, 
somewhat  bitterly  and  pathetically,  to  Grafton  that 

1  Lord  Rochford,  whose  abilities  were  unduly  depreciated  by  Horace 
Walpole,  does  not  appear  to  have  belonged  strictly  to  any  of  the  political 
parties  of  the  day.  "  I  want  particularly  to  speak  to  you  about  your  friend, 
Rochford,"  wrote  Newcastle  to  Albemarle  on  September  16th.  "  I  hear  it 
>is  reported  that  he  is  to  be  secretary  of  state.  He  is  the  fittest  for  it  of  any 
man  in  England  ;  but  I  would  have  him  come  in  with  our  friends,  and  not 
with  the  present  ministers,  who  will  endeavour  to  get  him  ;  but  that  your 
Sordship  must  prevent."     Add.  MS.,  32991,  A,  f.  107. 


THE  RESIGNATION  OF  CHATHAM  237 

"  the  administration,  since  Lord  Chatham's  illness, 
is  almost  entirely  altered,  without  being  changed  "  ; 1 
and  only  with  doubt,  and  after  much  hesitation, 
had  he  consented  to  the  project  of  expelling  Shelburne.2  • 
In  this  state  of  despondency  and  uncertainty  it  was 
not  unnatural  that  he  should  be  deeply  distressed  by 
the  withdrawal  of  Chatham.  "  To  me  I  fear,"  he 
wrote  on  first  learning  the  news,  "  the  blow  is  fatal, 
yet  I  shall  come  to  no  determination.  If  I  can  find 
out  what  is  fit  for  me  to  do  in  this  most  distressed 
situation,  that  I  must  do  :  but  the  difficulty  lies 
in  forming  a  true  judgment."  These  are  the  words  of 
a  man  distracted  with  doubt ;  and,  a  few  days  later,  he 
was  still  a  prey  to  hesitation,  telling  Grafton  "  that 
nothing  could  give  me  so  much  satisfaction  as  to  join 
with  your  grace  in  one  line  of  conduct ;  and  yet  I  see 
plainly,  that  our  situations  are  different,  and  the  same 
honour,  duty  to  the  king,  and  regard  to  the  public, 
operating  upon  two  minds  equally  aiming  at  the  same 
end,  may  possibly  draw  us  different  ways."  3 

A  modern  statesman  in  Camden's  place  would  have 
promptly  retired  from  the  cabinet,  but  a  mistaken 
sense  of  duty  to  the  king  and  Grafton,  and  the  fear 
that  he  might  be  held  guilty  of  deserting  a  losing  cause, 
induced  him  to  act  against  his  own  convictions,  and 
to  remain  in  office.  Well  would  it  have  been  for  his 
reputation  if  he  had  listened  more  attentively  to 
the  appeal  of  his  reason.  With  little  in  common 
with  his  colleagues,  and  sincerely  convinced  that  all 
taxation    of    the    colonies    was    inexpedient 4    it    was 

1  Grafton's  Autobiography,  p.  214.  a  Ibid.  pp.  214-217. 

3  Ibid.  pp.  224-225. 

4  "  I  submit,"  he  wrote  to  Grafton,  early  in  October,  "  to  the  declaratory 
law,  and  have  thought  it  my  duty  upon  that  ground,  as  a  minister,  to  exert 
every  constitutional  power  to  carry  the  duty  act  into  execution.  But,  as  a 
member  of  the  legislature,  I  cannot  bring  myself  to  advise  violent  measures 
to  support  a  plan  so  inexpedient  and  so  impolitic.     And  I  am  very  much 


238     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

indeed  time  for  him  to  withdraw  from  an  administration 
with  which  he  had  long  ceased  to  be  in  sympathy, 
and  which  by  his  presence  he  rather  weakened  than 
strengthened. 

Yet  Camden  continued  to  be  of  the  body  though 
not  of  the  soul  of  the  ministry,  a  discontented  member 
of  a  body  which  gave  ample  cause  for  discontent  ; 
and  if  the  government  had  been  called  upon  to  meet  a 
formidable  parliamentary  opposition,  it  is  by  no  means 
impossible  that  it  would  have  fallen  to  pieces  at  the 
first  blow.  But  the  prospect  of  such  a  contingency 
appeared  comparatively  remote  on  the  eve  of  the 
session.  No  steps  had  been  taken  to  heal  the  breach 
between  the  followers  of  Grenville  and  Rockingham, 
and  no  man  could  tell  whether  the  renewal  of  the 
parliamentary  struggle  would  widen  or  diminish  the 
gulf  between  them.  Ancient  bitterness  might  be 
renewed  by  the  revival  of  the  colonial  dispute,  and 
new  hostility  created  by  the  resurrection  of  Wilkes 
to  political  importance.  Nor  was  the  possibility  of 
still  further  drifting  apart  from  Grenville  the  only 
danger  which  threatened  the  Rockingham  whigs  : 
they  had  to  beware  of  divisions  in  their  own  ranks, 
and  to  fear  the  day  when  Chatham,  restored  to  health, 
would  plunge  again  into  the  political  fray,  for  none 
could  foretell  the  course  which  that  erratic  warrior 
would  pursue. 

The  danger  of  internal  dissensions  was  by  no  means 
remote  ;  and  Newcastle  was  not  entirely  the  prey  of 
an  old  man's  nervous  fancy  when  he  thought  that 

afraid  (I  speak  this  confidentially  to  your  grace)  that  if  a  motion  should  be 
made  to  repeal  the  act,  I  should  be  under  a  necessity  to  vote  for  it.  ...  I  am 
very  sensible  that  a  difference  of  opinion  on  a  subject  so  serious  and  important 
may  be  prejudicial  to  the  administration  .  .  .  but  I  do  fear  most  exceedingly 
that  upon  the  American  question  the  Bedfords  and  myself  will  be  too  far 
asunder  to  meet."     Grafton's  Autobiography,  pp.  215-217. 


THE  RESIGNATION  OF  CHATHAM  239 

he  detected  in  some  of  his  friends  a  growing  preference 
in  favour  of  a  coercive  colonial  policy.  "  I  doubt," 
he  wrote  to  Rockingham,  "  by  great  mismanagement 
the  measure  of  conquering  the  provinces,  and  obliging 
them  to  submit,  is  become  now  more  popular  than  it 
was.  It  is  certainly  the  measure  of  administration  ; 
and  I  am  afraid  some  of  our  own  friends  are  a  little 
tender  on  that  point "  ;x  and,  a  little  later,  he  expressed 
his  alarm  "  that  the  ministerial  measure  of  forcing 
the  colonies  may  be  .  .  .  adopted  by  some  of  our  best 
friends,"  and  the  hope  that  he  might  be  mistaken.2 
With  Rockingham  the  old  duke  was  well  enough 
pleased  ;  but  he  feared  that  the  more  violent  members 
of  the  party  might  be  prone  to  judge  too  harshly  the 
men  who  had  dared  to  resist  the  authority  of  parlia- 
ment. 

Newcastle,  however,  was  not  spared  to  see  the  future 
of  the  party,  whose  interests  he  had  so  much  at  heart, 
for  he  died  at  his  house  in  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields  on 
November  17th,  a  few  days  after  the  meeting  of 
parliament.  On  hearing  the  news,  Chesterfield,  who 
was  the  duke's  junior  by  one  year,  remarked,  "  I  own 
I  feel  for  his  death,  not  because  it  will  be  my  turn 
next ;  but  because  I  knew  him  to  be  very  goodnatured, 
and  his  hands  to  be  extremely  clean." 3  Such  an 
epitaph  from  such  a  man  is  not  without  value.  New- 
castle, indeed,  has  paid  to  the  uttermost  farthing 
the  penalty  of  his  success.  He  has  been  represented 
as  the  typical  leader  of  a  corrupt  and  inefficient 
oligarchy,  consumed  with  a  frenzied  passion  for  the 
most  sordid  and  repulsive  side  of  political  life,  thinking 
of  nothing  but  the  extension  of  his  parliamentary 
influence,  and  preferring  to  be  a  huckster  rather  than 

1  Add.  MS.,  32991,  A,  f.  94.  2  Add.  MS.,  32991,  A,  f.  206. 

3  Chesterfield's  Letters,  3,  1 380-1 381. 


240    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

a  statesman.  Nearly  every  historian  of  the  eighteenth 
century  has  cast  a  stone  at  him.  Macaulay,  depicting 
him  as  the  cunning  dotard  who  by  dint  of  low  craft 
proved  more  than  a  match  for  far  abler  men,  compares 
him  to  the  miser,  Trapbois,  in  the  "  Fortunes  of  Nigel "; 
and  Smollet  has  drawn  a  never  to  be  forgotten  picture 
of  the  duke,  with  a  shaving  cloth  under  his  chin,  and 
his  face  well  lathered,  slobbering  over  the  astonished 
ambassador  of  the  Dey  of  Algiers.  Yet,  though  there 
is  much  truth  in  these  indictments,  they  do  not  con- 
tain the  whole  truth  ;  and  Newcastle  was  something 
better  than  a  babbling  inconsequential  fool.  His 
faults  were  many  and  conspicuous.  He  betrayed 
Walpole  in  1742,  and  Pitt  in  1761  ;  he  was  the  victim 
of  a  jealousy  which  often  led  him  to  distrust  his  most 
faithful  friends  ;  he  was  often  incompetent  in  the 
transaction  of  business  ;  and  he  thought  far  too  much 
of  the  management  of  the  house  of  commons  and  far 
too  little  of  the  government  of  the  country.  But 
these  glaring  defects  ought  not  to  obscure  his  real 
merits  both  as  a  man  and  as  a  statesman.  Possessed 
of  a  personal  piety  which,  if  it  did  not  lead  him  to 
great  acts  of  Christian  devotion,  was,  at  least,  sincere, 
a  faithful  and  passionately  affectionate  husband,  and 
absolutely  regardless  of  all  pecuniary  profit,  he  laboured 
throughout  a  long  life  in  what  he  conscientiously 
believed  to  be  the  interests  of  the  nation  ;  and,  though 
often  lacking  in  wisdom  and  foresight,  was  never  found 
wanting  in  industry  and  application.  Nor  was  he 
by  any  means  so  deficient  in  political  ability  as  he  has 
sometimes  been  represented.  Towards  the  end  of  his 
life,  when  misfortunes  crowded  thickly  upon  him,  he 
revealed  a  greater  understanding  than  he  had  ever 
displayed  in  the  hour  of  his  omnipotence.  It  was 
largely  by  his   indefatigable  industry  and  zeal  that 


THE  RESIGNATION  OF  CHATHAM  241 

the  Rockingham  party  had  been  founded  and  main- 
tained ;  and  his  advice,  though  sometimes  rejected, 
was  generally  well  worth  taking.  It  was  he  who  had 
urged  that  the  assistance  of  Pitt  should  be  secured 
at  all  cost,  who  had  impressed  upon  his  friends  the 
necessity  of  union,  and  had  warned  his  supporters 
against  a  policy  which  could  only  end  in  a  rupture 
with  the  colonies ;  and,  if  neither  a  hero  of  romance 
nor  a  heaven-born  statesman,  Newcastle  was  something 
more  than  a  gilded  nonentity,  and  in  him  the 
Rockinghams  lost  a  counsellor  whom  they  could  ill 
afford  to  spare. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE   FALL   OF   GRAFTON 

The  meeting  of  parliament  had  been  fixed  for  November 
8th,  and  Grafton  must  have  viewed  the  approach 
of  a  new  session  with  apprehension  and  dread.  He 
was  aware  that  any  further  postponement  of  the  Wilkes 
question  was  out  of  the  question,  that  the  ministry 
would  be  arraigned  both  for  its  foreign  and  colonial 
policy  ;  and  that  his  strength  had  waned  in  almost 
exact  proportion  to  the  increase  of  his  difficulties. 
He  seemed  to  have  touched  the  very  nadir  of  his  fortune, 
to  have  reached  the  goal  to  which  he  had  been  aimlessly, 
but  inevitably,  drifting  from  the  very  moment  that 
he  had  accepted  office  at  Chatham's  dictation.  The 
sport  of  adverse  chance  and  doom,  he  had  failed  to 
grasp  the  law  of  his  own  soul's  progress ;  and,  in  a  vain 
endeavour  to  do  right,  had  consistently  passed  from 
bad  to  worse.  Failure  had  dogged  his  most  con- 
scientious efforts,  and,  if  he  had  dared  to  look  back, 
he  would  have  seen  how  far  he  had  strayed  from 
the  course  on  which  he  had  originally  started.  The 
Rockingham  whigs,  his  earliest  political  associates, 
were  now  his  open  and  declared  enemies  ;  Chatham, 
for  whose  sake  he  had  borne  the  brunt  of  the  battle, 
had  recently  disowned  him ;  no  reliance  could  be 
placed  upon  Camden,  who  had  not  scrupled  to  publish 
to  the  world  his  dislike  of  the  administration  ;  x    and 

1  A  few  weeks  after  the  meeting  of  parliament  Camden  informed  Wedder- 
burn  "  that  as  to  the  present  administration,  he  (the  chancellor)  hated  and 
242 


THE  FALL  OF  GRAFTON  243 

neither  Gower  nor  Weymouth  were  likely  to  raise  a 
ringer  to  save  Grafton  in  the  moment  of  peril.  Thus, 
separated  from  old  friends  and  new  allies,  the  prime 
minister  was  doomed  to  a  dreary  isolation  in  the  cabinet 
over  which  he  presided  but  did  not  direct ;  and  his 
experience  of  administrative  life  must  have  served  to 
intensify  his  preference  for  the  existence  of  a  country 
gentleman,  and  to  deepen  his  dislike  of  the  cares  and 
anxieties  of  a  public  career.  He  would  have  been 
wise  to  abandon  a  task  which  he  had  clearly  shown 
that  he  could  not  perform ;  but,  if  he  elected  to  continue 
attempting  the  impossible,  he  was  but  pursuing  the 
path  which  he  had  conscientiously  followed  from  the 
first.  Still  retaining  the  confidence  of  the  court,  and 
secure  of  a  majority  in  the  house  of  commons,  he  was 
not  called  upon,  by  the  constitutional  practice  of  the 
day,  to  resign  because  he  had  forfeited  the  goodwill 
of  the  nation  ;  and,  indeed,  had  he  abandoned  office 
at  this  critical  juncture,  it  is  not  improbable  that 
George  III.  would  have  charged  him  with  desertion. 
Believing  himself  to  be  the  minister  of  the  king  rather 
than  of  the  people,  Grafton  remained  in  office  to  defend 
the  crown  against  the  factions  which  threatened  its 
independence  ;  and  it  is  to  his  credit  that  he  continued 
to  bear  the  burden  of  which  he  would  so  gladly  have 
been  rid. 

And  the  burden,  heavy  enough  when  he  first  took 
it  up  in  1766,  had  become  perceptibly  heavier  with  the 

despised  them,  and  thought  himself  in  many  instances  personally  ill-used  by 
them.  .  .  .  He  repeated  many  times,  with  infinite  grief,  the  hard  charge  of 
ingratitude  laid  against  him,  saying  his  conduct  in  the  transaction  with  Lord 
Bristol  could  only  arise  from  thinking  it  was  conformable  to  Lord  Chatham's 
wishes,  since  he  could  not  mean  by  it  to  serve  the  administration  whom  he 
hated,  nor  would  he  do  it  as  a  means  to  preserve  that  bauble  (pointing  to  the 
mace)  which  possibly  he  might  not  hold  a  week  longer.  He  left  Mr  Wedder- 
burn  at  liberty  to  tell  this  to  whom  he  pleased,  wishing  rather  to  have  it  told 
than  concealed."     Grenville  Papers,  4,  404  ff. 


244    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

passage  of  the  years  ;  and  at  no  time  was  the  weight 
greater  than  in  the  autumn  of  1768.  Yet,  confronted 
though  they  were  with  problems  clamouring  for 
solution,  with  the  colonies  speeding  towards  rebellion, 
and  a  discontented  nation  at  home,  neither  the  ad- 
ministration nor  the  Rockingham  whigs  were  apparently 
furnished  with  a  plan  of  campaign.  Shortly  before 
the  meeting  of  parliament,  Lord  Sandwich,  who  as  a 
member  of  the  ministry  would  have  excellent  means 
of  obtaining  information,  told  a  friend  that  "as  to 
Wilkes  .  .  .  government  were  not  inclined  to  propose 
his  expulsion,  if  he  himself  was  quiet,  but  if  his  friends 
attempted  anything  in  his  favour  in  parliament,  that 
then  every  advantage  would  be  taken  against  him  "  ;  1 
and  Lord  Chesterfield  reported  that  when  one  minister 
inquired  of  another  what  was  to  be  done  with  Wilkes, 
the  answer  was  returned,  "I  do  not  know."  2  This 
is  merely  the  policy  of  waiting  upon  events  ;  and  the 
same  attitude  of  doubt  and  hesitation  is  to  be  detected 
in  the  Rockingham  party.  Those  champions  of  a 
lost  cause  were  of  the  opinion,  it  is  true,  that  the  time 
had  come  to  make  a  resolute  attack  upon  the  govern- 
ment ;  but  we  are  left  very  much  in  the  dark  as  to 
the  exact  plan  of  the  onslaught.  Early  in  October, 
Rockingham  declared  that  no  doubt  existed  as  to 
"  the  general  idea  of  what  our  conduct  should  be,"  3 
but  details  were  left  over  to  be  decided  by  the  leaders 
of  the  party,  who  were  to  gather  in  conclave  before 
the  meeting  of  parliament ;  and  it  is  difficult  to  avoid 
the  impression  that  it  was  this  part  of  the  work  of 
preparation  which  was  least  effectively  performed. 
From  what  we  know  of  these  conferences  it  seems  that, 
though  it  was  decided  to  re-introduce  the  nullum  tempus 

1  Add.  MS.,  35608,  f.  286.  2  Chesterfield's  Letters,  3,  1380. 

3  Add.  MS.,  32991,  A,  f.  244. 


THE  FALL  OF  GRAFTON  245 

bill,  to  contest  the  validity  of  Sir  James  Lowther's 
election,  and,  if  opportunity  offered,  to  propose  an 
amendment  to  the  address  relating  to  foreign  affairs,1 
nothing  was  determined  upon  the  far  more  important 
questions  of  Wilkes  and  the  colonies.2  This  was  neither 
a  satisfactory  nor  a  comprehensive  programme  ;  and 
the  Rockingham  whigs,  like  the  ministers,  are  open  to 
the  charge  of  neglecting  the  maxim  that  victory  goes  to 
the  man  who  knows  what  he  wants,  and  plans  to  get  it. 
It  may  well  be,  however,  that  both  the  opposing 
forces  were  wise  in  their  generation,  and  that,  by 
carefully  shunning  an  over-elaboration  of  policy,  they 
sought  to  avert  a  pressing  danger.  The  lack  of  pre- 
paration by  the  ministers  is  not  surprising,  seeing 
how  few  and  comparatively  unimportant  were  the 
questions  upon  which  they  were  really  in  agreement  ; 
and  Grafton,  unwilling  to  go  as  far  as  the  Bedfords 
in  coercing  the  colonists,  and  aware  how  little  Camden 
approved  of  what  had  been  done  in  the  past  or  might 
be  done  in  the  future,  probably  felt  that  only  in  an 
atmosphere  of  vagueness  and  indecision  could  his 
administration  continue  to  exist.  It  is  also  possible 
that  the  Rockinghams  were  encouraged  to  adopt  the 
same  attitude  of  expectancy,  lest,  by  nailing  their 
colours  too  promptly  to  the  mast,  they  might  not 
only  cause  dissension  amongst  themselves,  but  also 
widen  the  gulf  which  lay  between  them  and  Grenville. 

1  The  proposed  amendment  ran  as  follows  :  "  To  thank  his  majesty  for 
such  information  as  he  has  been  graciously  pleased  to  give  his  parliament 
concerning  the  doubtful  state  of  this  nation  in  regard  to  foreign  powers,  and 
to  assure  his  majesty  that  his  faithful  commons,  when  more  fully  informed 
on  these  matters,  will  immediately  take  the  same  into  their  most  serious  con- 
sideration, and  humbly  offer  such  advice,  and  cheerfully  give  such  support,  as 
may  be  most  for  the  honour  and  dignity  of  his  majesty's  crown,  the  welfare 
of  his  majesty's  subjects,  and  the  preservation  of  the  peace  and  tranquillity 
of  Europe."     Add.  MS.,  32991,  A,  f.  401. 

2  Add.  MS.,  32991,  A,  f.  375  ;  Add.  MS.,  35430,  f.  120. 


246     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

Separated  as  were  the  two  wings  of  the  opposition 
by  the  unhappy  dispute  with  the  colonies,  they  might 
be  driven  still  further  asunder  if,  in  headlong  haste, 
the  Rockinghams  espoused  the  cause  of  Wilkes.  For 
it  was  while  Grenville  was  in  office,  and  in  entire 
accordance  with  his  wishes,  that  Wilkes  had  been 
originally  expelled  from  parliament  ;  and  it  might 
be  expected  that  he  would  view  with  approval  and 
exultation  a  renewal  of  the  attack  upon  his  victim. 
Reasonable  caution,  therefore,  dictated  to  the 
Rockinghams  to  tread  carefully  on  what  could  not  but 
be  dangerous  ground  ;  and  care  was  far  more  necessary 
than  even  they  realised.  It  was  not  only  that  Temple 
had  begun  to  hint  at  a  reconciliation,  telling  Charles 
Yorke  that  he  had  always  been  well  disposed  towards 
a  union  and  connection  with  the  Rockingham  party, 
but  "  if  that  was  impossible,  we  might  and  should 
agree  in  measures  "  :x  what  was  of  far  greater  moment 
was  that  the  whole  political  situation  had  been  trans- 
formed by  the  withdrawal  of  Chatham  from  the 
ministry.  Once  more  that  great  statesman  was  a 
free  lance,  and  it  might  not  be  many  months  before 
he  had  rallied  his  strength  sufficiently  to  take  once 
again  a  part  in  the  conflict.  When  he  reappeared 
in  the  political  arena,  it  was  certain  that  he  would 
attack  an  administration  which  he  had  disowned; 
but  whether  he  would  lend  his  aid  in  the  encounter 
to  the  Grenvilles  or  the  Rockinghams,  or,  as  he  had 
done  on  a  former  occasion,  fight  in  splendid  isolation, 
no  man  could  prophesy.  The  time,  the  mode,  and 
the  consequences  of  Chatham's  return  were  all  un- 
certain ;  and  it  behoved  cautious  politicians  to  walk 
warily,  for  fear  of  dooming  themselves,  by  undue  haste, 
to  disaster  in  a  distant  and  obscure  future. 

1  Add.  MS.,  32990,  f.  368. 


THE  FALL  OF  GRAFTON  247 

Such  was  the  atmosphere  in  which  the  parliamentary 
struggle  began  on  November  8th.  In  the  speech 
from  the  throne  there  was  an  indirect  reference  to 
the  unfriendly  attitude  of  France,  and  a  pointed 
censure  of  the  spirit  of  faction  in  the  American  colonies, 
but  no  mention  of  Wilkes,  an  omission  which  may  be 
taken  \o  signify  that  the  ministers  had  not  yet  deter- 
mined upon  the  punishment  to  be  meted  out  to  that 
offender.  In  the  upper  house  there  was  little  discus- 
sion, no  amendment  being  proposed  to  the  address  of 
thanks  ;  *  but  in  the  house  of  commons  there  was  a 
lengthy  and  animated  debate.  Lord  Henley,  the 
eldest  son  of  Lord  Northington,  in  moving  the  address, 
strongly  inveighed  against  the  colonists,  declaring 
that  "  we  shall  be  ever  ready  to  hear  and  redress  any 
real  grievances  of  your  majesty's  American  subjects ; 
but  we  should  betray  the  trust  reposed  in  us,  if  we  did 
not  withstand  every  attempt  to  infringe  or  weaken 
our  just  rights  ;  and  we  shall  always  consider  it  as 
one  of  our  most  important  duties,  to  maintain  entire 
and  inviolate  the  supreme  authority  of  the  legislature 
of  Great  Britain  over  every  part  of  the  British  empire." 
Henley,  moreover,  did  not  stand  alone  in  his  violence, 
the  same  unconciliatory  tone  being  adopted  by  the 
seconder  of  the  address,  who  contemptuously  referred 
to  the  "  insolent  town  of  Boston,"  and  contended 
that  "  men  so  unsusceptible  of  all  middle  terms  of 
accommodation,  call  loudly  for  our  correction."  These 
were  emphatic  enough  statements,  and  most  of  the 
speakers,  who  took  part  in  the  discussion,  breathed  the 
same  spirit  of  hostility  towards  the  colonists.  George 
Grenville  expressed  his  rooted  abhorrence  of  any  course 
of  action  which  might  encourage  the  Americans  to 
persevere     in     their     ill-advised     resistance  ;      Lord 

1  Add.  MS.,  32991,  A,  f.  406. 


248    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

Barrington  stigmatised  them  as  "  worse  than  traitors 
against  the  crown — traitors  against  the  legislature 
of  this  country  "  ;  North  vehemently  declared  that 
he  would  oppose  any  attempt  to  repeal  the  revenue 
act ;  and  an  amendment,  proposed  by  Dowdeswell, 
and  supported  by  Burke  and  Barre,  calling  upon  the 
government  to  explain  the  steps  that  had  been  taken 
"  for  maintaining  peace  and  good  order  in  his  majesty's 
colonies  in  North  America,"  was  abandoned  without 
being  put  to  the  vote.1 

The  violence  of  the  debate  on  the  first  day  of  the 
session  was  unfortunately  only  too  true  an  indication 
of  what  was  to  follow  later  ;  and,  until  parliament 
rose  in  May,  1769,  its  time  was  mainly  occupied  with 
discussion  of  colonial  business  and  the  attack  upon 
Wilkes.  In  the  intervals  between  the  battles  on  these 
questions,  the  opposition  was  successful  in  unseating 
Sir  James  Lowther,  and  in  carrying  the  nullum  tempus 
bill ;  but  these  victories  were  due  in  no  small  measure 
to  the  politic  generosity  of  the  ministers  who  took 
little  pains  to  defend  an  adherent  notoriously  guilty 
of  having  purchased  his  seat  by  the  worst  kind  of 
corruption,  or  to  oppose  a  bill  which  approved  itself 
to   the   landed   gentry   throughout   the   country.2     If 

1  Cavendish  Debates,  I,  30  seq. 

2  The  popularity  of  the  nullum  tempus  bill  rendered  opposition  by  the 
ministers  unwise,  and  little  resistance  was  made  to  it  in  either  house  of  parlia- 
ment. Add.  MSS.,  35362,  f.  237,  f.  238.  The  corruption  attending  Lowther's 
election  can  be  gathered  from  a  letter  by  the  Duke  of  Portland  to  Newcastle. 
"  At  last  the  poll  is  closed  for  this  county,"  wrote  the  Duke  on  April  23^ 
1768,  "  and  the  high  sheriff,  after  having  rejected  373  during  and  since  the 
close  of  the  poll,  has  found  out  that  Sir  James  Lowther  has  a  majority  of  two 
above  Mr  Fletcher  ;  and  has  consequently,  upon  the  following  state,  returned 
him  and  Mr  Curwen  contrary  to  all  law,  reason,  and  justice.  The  numbers 
according  to  his  discovery  stand  thus:  Curwen,  2139;  Lowther,  1977; 
Fletcher,  1975  ;  Senhouse,  1891.  Besides  the  rejection,  in  which  I  can  safely 
assure  your  grace,  there  was  not  a  single  questionable  vote,  he  was,  for  the 
infamous  purpose  above  mentioned,  obliged  to  admit  upwards  of  one  hundred 
votes  for  Sir  James  Lowther,  and  Mr  Senhouse,  who  really  had  no  pretence 


THE  FALL  OF  GRAFTON  249 

they  had  utilised  the  strength  thus  saved  in  devising 
some  means  of  restoring  the  old  harmonious  relations 
with  the  colonies,  they  would  have  deserved  the 
gratitude  of  all  Englishmen  ;  but  this  they  neither 
accomplished  nor  even  attempted  ;  and  it  cannot  be 
pleaded  in  their  defence  that  they  were  ignorant  of 
the  danger  which  was  threatening  the  mother  country. 
They  must  have  known  that  the  resistance  started 
at  Boston  was  rapidly  spreading  throughout  America ; 1 
for,  no  sooner  had  the  session  begun,  than  parliament 
was  inundated  by  petitions  from  indignant  colonials, 
encouraged,  by  the  example  of  Massachusetts,  to  pro- 
test against  what  they  thought  to  be  an  infringement 
of  their  natural  rights.  A  remonstrance  from  the 
assembly  of  Virginia  was  followed  by  a  petition  from 
the  province  of  Pennsylvania,  which  in  its  turn  was 
succeeded  by  a  petition  from  a  body  styling  itself 
the  "  major  part  of  the  council  of  Massachusetts."  2 
Not  the  least  striking,  and  certainly  the  most  ominous, 
characteristic  of  these  appeals  was  the  comparatively 
slight  and  unimportant  differences  between  them. 
They  unanimously  denounced  the  revenue  act  as  a 
gross  violation  of  that  traditional  English  freedom  which 
the  colonists  had  not  forfeited  by  their  journey  across 
the  seas  ;  and,  in  so  doing,  implicitly  called  upon  the 
king  and  parliament  to  abandon  an  unlawful  practice 
disguised  as  a  legal  right. 

It  was  no  small  demand  to  make,  but  it  would  be 
a  mistake  at  once  to  come  to  the  conclusion  that  its 


in  the  world  to  offer  themselves,  and  who  are  guilty  of  the  most  wilful  and 
corrupt  perjury.  The  freeholders,  actuated  by  the  same  spirit  that  has  led 
them  hitherto,  are  determined  not  to  bear  this  insult ;  and,  at  their  own  ex- 
pense, to  petition  the  house  of  commons,  and  prosecute  the  offenders."  Add. 
MS.,  35638,  f.  262  (copy). 

1  Grenville  Papers,  4,  408-409. 

2  Cavendish  Debates,  1,  49  seq.,  82  seq.,  185  seq. 


250    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

fulfilment  was  impossible.  Statesmen  have  sometimes 
to  pay  a  very  heavy  price  for  the  mistakes  committed 
either  by  themselves  or  their  predecessors  in  office ; 
and,  as  has  been  well  said,  if  guilt  be  expiated  in  another 
world,  the  wages  of  folly  are  often  paid  here  below. 
And  few  would  now  deny  that  the  English  ministers 
had  been  guilty  of  great  folly,  with  no  one  but  them- 
selves to  blame  for  the  impasse  in  which  they  were. 
The  beneficial  effects  to  be  expected  from  the  repeal 
of  the  stamp  act  had  been  partly  discounted  by  the 
declaratory  act,  and  totally  obliterated  by  Townshend's 
revenue  bill ;  and  the  colonists  can  hardly  be  blamed 
for  believing  that  the  home  government  was  determined, 
under  one  pretext  or  another,  to  extract  money  from 
their  pockets  without  their  consent.  Passions  and 
interests  had  been  deeply  stirred,  and  men's  minds 
loosened  from  their  ancient  moorings ;  and  it  is 
arguable  that  only  by  the  surrender  of  the  right  of 
taxation,  however  humiliating  it  might  be  to  the  pride 
of  a  great  country,  could  England  have  won  back  the 
love  and  loyalty  of  her  American  children.  Concession 
is  not  always  a  sign  of  weakness,  and  more  has  been 
lost  by  pride  than  by  humility. 

If,  indeed,  such  a  policy  was  the  only  solution  of  the 
difficulty,  the  situation  was  truly  tragic  ;  since  some- 
thing in  the  nature  of  a  miracle  was  needed  to  bring 
salvation.  Save  for  Chatham  and  Camden,  hardly  any 
of  the  leading  politicians  of  the  day  were  in  favour 
of  the  repeal  of  the  declaratory  act.  It  is  not  likely 
that  the  Rockingham  whigs  would  approve  the  removal 
from  the  statute  book  of  a  measure  for  which  they 
were  responsible  ;  and  the  king,  the  Grenvilles,  and 
the  majority  of  the  cabinet,  would  certainly  object 
to  what  might  be  construed  as  an  unworthy  concession 
to  rebellion.     All  parties  in  parliament  might,  therefore, 


THE  FALL  OF  GRAFTON  251 

be  expected  to  oppose  what  was  perhaps  the  only- 
effective  remedy  for  an  urgent  evil ;  and  the  ministers 
can  hardly  be  censured  for  having  failed  to  act,  not 
only  against  their  own  convictions,  but  also  against 
those  of  their  opponents.  Yet  they  by  no  means 
stand  completely  exonerated  from  blame ;  for, 
impracticable  though  the  wisest  course  might  be,  it 
was  still  their  business  to  devise  a  policy  for  the 
emergency  ;  and  it  might  have  been  well  for  them 
if,  following  the  example  of  the  Rockingham  ministry, 
they  had  repealed  Townshend's  act,  leaving  untouched 
the  right  of  the  English  parliament  to  levy  taxes  for 
purpose  of  revenue  upon  America.  Such  a  programme 
might,  possibly,  have  failed  to  placate  the  colonists, 
but  it  would  at  least  have  been  a  step  in  the  direction 
of  conciliation,  and  might  have  been  taken  without 
any  fear  of  evoking  a  formidable  parliamentary  oppo- 
sition. Grenville,  of  course,  ever  sensitive  upon  the 
point  of  American  taxation,  could  be  relied  upon  to 
oppose  such  a  proposal ;  but  the  Rockingham  whigs, 
on  the  other  hand,  might  be  expected  to  welcome  the 
unexpected  vision  of  the  ministers  advancing  with  an 
olive  branch  in  their  hands.  When  in  power  them- 
selves they  had  repealed  the  stamp  act  on  account  of 
the  resistance  it  had  encountered  ;  and  Burke  may  be 
taken  to  have  voiced  the  sentiments  of  his  party  when 
he  declared  in  the  house  of  commons  that  "  if  the 
question  was  whether  we  should  repeal  or  whether  we 
should  enforce  the  act  in  question,  I  have  no  hesita- 
tion in  saying,  repeal."  1 

If,  however,  conciliation  was  to  take  the  place  of 
coercion  there  must  be  no  delay.  The  oil  of  forgiveness 
must  be  poured  upon  the  troubled  waters  of  rebellion 
before  the  tempest  had  reached  its  height ;   the  pardon 

1  Cavendish  Debates,  I,  398-399. 


252     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

must  appear  to  flow  from  kindness  not  from  fear  ; 
and  the  goodwill  of  the  colonists  fostered  before  it 
had  entirely  evaporated.  Unfortunately,  however, 
the  ministers  were  too  blind  to  perceive  the  force  of 
such  a  consideration  ;  and,  when  the  parliamentary 
session  came  to  an  end,  the  revenue  act  was  still  un- 
repealed. Truly  disastrous  as  such  procrastination 
was,  it  is  not  necessary  to  imagine  that  it  was  due  to 
a  settled  conviction  in  the  cabinet  that  Townshend's 
measure  must  stand  for  ever,  or  to  a  callous  dis- 
regard of  the  critical  character  of  the  situation  ;  far 
more  probably  it  was  based  upon  an  intelligible,  if 
wrong-headed,  policy.  Apparently  the  administration 
believed  that  the  repeal  of  the  act  must  be  deferred 
until  a  demonstration  had  been  made  of  the  displeasure 
of  the  mother  country  ;  and  the  ministers,  overlooking 
the  fact  that  they  were  expected  to  behave  like  states- 
men, decided  to  act  like  schoolmasters  who  find  it 
easier  to  exercise  the  rules  of  discipline  than  to  practise 
the  arts  of  management.  In  accordance  with  this 
pedagogic  conception  of  government,  Lord  Hillsborough, 
on  December  15th,  1768,  moved  eight  resolutions 
in  the  house  of  lords,  couched  in  a  minatory  tone, 
denouncing  the  illegal  pretentions  of  the  Massachusetts 
assembly  and  the  disorderly  conduct  of  the  citizens 
of  Boston ;  and  he  was  followed  by  the  Duke  of  Bedford 
who  moved  an  address  to  the  king,  approving  the  steps 
taken  to  maintain  order  in  the  colonies,  and  petitioning 
the  crown  to  revive  an  obsolete  statute  of  the  reign 
of  Henry  VIIL,  under  which  colonists,  suspected 
of  treason  or  misprision  of  treason,  could  be  brought 
over  to  England  to  stand  their  trial.1 

Possessing  the   advantage   of  looking  back  across 

1  Pari.  Hist.,  xvi.  476  seq. ;    Hist.  MSS.  Comm.,  14th  Report,  Appendix, 
part  x. 


THE  FALL  OF  GRAFTON  253 

the  years,  and  knowing  what  was  to  be  the  issue  of  the 
unhappy  dispute,  we  need  no  great  insight  to  perceive, 
at  a  glance,  the  hopeless  futility  of  such  proceedings. 
There  was  much  to  be  said  for  a  policy  of  instant 
conciliation,  and  something  to  be  said  in  favour  of 
consistent  coercion ;  but  to  steer  a  middle  course 
between  the  two,  to  do  nothing  towards  a  solution  of 
the  problem,  and  yet,  at  the  same  time,  to  cause  needless 
offence,  was  but  to  court  disaster.  Empty  resolutions 
such  as  these  were  not  likely  to  intimidate,  and  only 
too  certain  to  aggravate,  a  disturbed  continent ;  for  the 
Americans  would  have  been  either  more  or  less  than 
human  if  they  had  not  deeply  resented  the  iniquitous 
proposal  to  revive  a  law,  passed  in  a  tyrannical 
age,  under  which  every  colonist  suspected  of  treason 
could  be  dragged  from  his  home  to  stand  his  trial  in 
a  distant  land.  Such  arguments,  however,  would 
carry  little  weight  with  the  well-paid  supporters  of  the 
court ;  and  the  resolutions  and  the  address  were 
carried  in  both  houses.  In  the  house  of  lords  the 
debate  was  languid  and  ineffective,  few  of  the  peers, 
with  the  exception  of  the  Duke  of  Richmond,  offer- 
ing much  objection  ; l  but  in  the  commons  there  was 
a  fiercer  and  more  animated  discussion.  Both  Dowdes- 
well  and  Burke  denounced  the  proposal  to  revive  a 
treason  law  passed  in  a  century  hateful  to  every  good 
whig  ;  and  although  Grenville  refused  to  oppose  the 
resolutions  and  address  in  their  final  form,  for  fear 
that  he  might  be  held  guilty  of  countenancing 
rebellion,  he  was  bitterly,  and  indeed  justly,  con- 
temptuous of  the  ministers  whom,  he  declared, 
'  were  holding  out  angry  words  on  the  one  hand, 
and  giving  no  remedy  on  the  other."  "  Do  not 
let    us  stand,"   he   vehemently  cried,  "  shiffle-shuffle 

1  Pari.  Hist.,  xvi.  476. 


254    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

between  two  measures  .  .  .  you  are  absolutely  doing 
nothing."  * 

Grenville  was  true  enough ;  and  his  point  of  view, 
perverted  though  it  might  be  by  doctrinaire  and 
pedantic  conceptions  of  government,  was  at  least  more 
statesmanlike  and  enlightened  than  that  of  the 
ministers  who  elected  to  occupy  a  whole  parliamentary 
session  in  offensively  marking  time.  Yet  the  situation 
was  too  critical  even  for  the  government  indefinitely 
to  postpone  a  solution  ;  and  on  May  ist,  a  few  days 
before  the  end  of  the  session,  the  ministers  met  in 
cabinet  council  to  decide  upon  a  course  of  action. 
Nine  members  were  present,  the  only  absentee  being 
Sir  Edward  Hawke,  the  first  lord  of  the  admiralty, 
who  was  prevented  from  attending  by  illness,  a  circum- 
stance which  was  destined  to  have  important  and  un- 
fortunate consequences.  Convinced  that  the  time  had 
,  come  to  abandon  a  hopeless  position,  Grafton  proposed 
that  the  revenue  act  should  be  totafly  and  entirely 
repealed,  and  was  supported  by  Camden,  Conway, 
and  Granby.  Late  as  such  a  proposal  was,  since  the 
repeal,  if  agreed  upon,  could  not  be  carried  into  effect 
until  the  next  parliamentary  session,  there  is  no 
doubt  that  it  was  by  far  the  wisest,  and  indeed  the  only, 
course  that  could  be  pursued,  unless  the  government 
was  prepared  to  quell  rebellion  by  force  of  arms. 
Wisdom,  however,  is  not  always  triumphant  in  the 
affairs  of  this  world,  often  failing  to  overcome  her 
enemies,  prejudice  and  unenlightened  self-interest ; 
and  so  it  was  on  this  occasion.  The  other  five  ministers 
present — Gower,  Weymouth,  Rochford,  North,  and 
Hillsborough — believing  that  so  complete  a  surrender 
would  be  construed  as  weakness,  insisted  that  while 
the  duties  upon  paper,  glass,  and  colours  should  be 

1  Cavendish  Debates,  i.  190. 


THE  FALL  OF  GRAFTON  255 

repealed  as  commercially  unsound,  that  upon  tea 
should  be  retained  to  testify  that  England  had  not 
abandoned  the  right  of  taxation  ;  and,  profiting  by 
the  absence  of  Sir  Edward  Hawke,  they  carried  their 
point  by  one  vote.  Thus,  by  the  smallest  possible 
majority,  did  a  radically  unsound  policy  prevail ;  and 
the  pride  of  England  was  saved  to  her  own  ultimate 
undoing.  The  colonists  would  think  little  of  the  duties 
remitted,  and  a  great  deal  of  the  duty  which  remained  ; 
the  tax  upon  tea  would  stand  as  a  sign  of  a  hated 
principle,  as  a  testimony  to  the  fact  that  England  still 
claimed  the  right  of  extorting  money  from  her  children 
across  the  seas,  and  as  a  perpetual  incitement  to 
colonial  rebellion.1 

Thus,  the  forces  of  darkness  prevailed,  and  Grafton 
had  once  more  cause  to  reflect  upon  the  little  influence 
he  was  able  to  exercise  in  his  own  cabinet.  The  evils 
of  delay  were  aggravated  by  imperfect  concession ; 
and  in  its  American  policy  the  ministry  steadily  and 
persistently  pursued  the  road  of  failure.  Nor  was 
the  darkness  relieved  by  gleams  of  light  elsewhere  ; 
for,  if  in  their  treatment  of  the  colonists  the  ministers 
stand  convicted  of  stupidity  and  misunderstanding, 
in  their  handling  of  Wilkes,  and  the  questions  to  which 
he  gave  rise,  they  were  guilty  of  a  violation  of  the  law 
of  the  land.  That  inveterate  disturber  of  ministerial 
peace  was,  indeed,  to  lead  his  pursuers  a  weary  chase 
before  being  run  to  earth  and  to  enjoy  by  far  the  greater 
share  of  the  sport.  Confined  though  he  was  as  a  con- 
victed criminal  to  the  king's  bench  prison,  he  was 
admirably  equipped  for  making  war  upon  the  adminis- 

1  Grafton's  Autobiography,  pp.  229-233.  Lord  Camden  was  also  further 
aggrieved  because  certain  conciliatory  expressions,  which  had  been  agreed 
upon  at  the  meeting,  were  omitted  from  the  circular  letter  in  which  Lord 
Hillsborough  communicated  the  intention  of  the  cabinet  to  the  Colonies. 
Ibid. 


256    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

tration,  having  lost  nothing  of  the  popularity  which  he 
had  recaptured  by  his  appearance  at  the  poll.  He 
was  still  the  popular  hero,  the  champion  of  liberty  ; 
and  the  tedium  of  his  seclusion  was  much  alleviated 
by  the  attentions  of  his  many  admirers.  The  "  Sons 
of  Liberty"  of  Boston  complimented  him  by  an  address 
in  which  he  was  hailed  as  a  martyr  in  the  sacred  cause 
of  freedom ;  and  this  was  but  one  of  the  many 
testimonies  of  respect  he  received  from  corporations 
as  well  as  individuals.  Nor  was  more  material  re- 
cognition lacking  from  thoughtful  admirers  who  had 
the  wit  to  understand  that  the  body  as  well  as  the  soul 
of  the  martyr  needed  sustenance.  A  well-wisher, 
resident  in  Rotterdam,  presented  him  with  a  dozen 
of  the  best  Burgundy  ;  a  native  of  Shropshire  provided 
a  collar  of  brawn,  and  had  the  forethought  to  pay 
the  carriage ;  and  the  gentlemen  of  the  Cave  in  Covent 
Garden,  indignant  at  "  the  dangerous  and  uncon- 
stitutional manner  with  which  Mr  Wilkes  has  been 
treated,  and  as  a  small  token  of  their  abhorrence 
thereof,"  requested  his  acceptance  of  twenty  guineas 
and  "  a  hamper  of  their  best  liquor."  1 

Such  gifts  were  doubtless  acceptable  enough ;  and  if 
Wilkes  had  been  the  ordinary  type  of  adventurer,  he 
might  have  rested  content  with  the  disturbance  he  had 
already  caused,  and  waited,  until  his  term  of  imprison- 
ment was  over,  before  renewing  his  attack  upon  the 
administration.  If  he  had  been  satisfied  to  profit 
by  the  generosity  of  his  admirers,  and  rest  upon  his 
oars,  it  is  possible  that  the  ministers  might  have  left 
him  alone,  and  permitted  him  to  remain  a  member  of 
parliament,  at  least  until  he  emerged  from  his  confine- 
ment. He  was  well  known  to  be  a  dangerous  antagonist ; 
and  the  royal  advisers  do  not  appear  to  have  framed 

1  Add.  MS.,  30870,  f.  45,  f.  56,  f.  81,  f.  90. 


THE  FALL  OF  GRAFTON  257 

any  definite  plan  of  campaign  against  him  before  the 
beginning  of  the  session,  being,  on  the  whole,  rather 
inclined  to  refrain  from  any  hostile  action,  if  Wilkes, 
on  his  part,  abstained  from  giving  new  offence  ;  and 
we  have  it  on  fairly  good  authority  that  he  received 
a  private  message  from  the  Duke  of  Grafton  to  the 
effect  that  if  he  remained  quiet  no  attack  would  be 
made  upon  him.1  But,  though  the  ministers  might 
propose,  it  was  Wilkes  that  disposed ;  and  tamely 
to  acquiesce  in  accomplished  facts  was  not  in  accord- 
ance with  his  nature  or,  indeed,  with  his  interests. 
Fully  alive  to  the  fickleness  of  the  mob  who  need  to  be 
constantly  reminded  of  their  heroes,  he  realised  that 
the  price  of  leisure  and  inactivity  would  be  the  loss 
of  his  popularity  and,  consequently,  his  own  destruction. 
Such  a  mistake  he  could  not  afford  to  make,  and  he 
determined  to  renew  the  battle  which  at  least  some  of 
his  opponents  would  have  gladly  brought  to  an  end. 

It  was  on  Monday,  November  14th,  that  Sir  Joseph 
Mawbey,  a  politician  who  claimed  to  be  above  party, 
but  who  was  known  to  be  a  friend  of  the  imprisoned 
senator,  presented  a  petition  from  Wilkes,  asking  for 
redress  of  grievances.  The  petition,  though  suffered  to 
lie  upon  the  table,  was  not  heard  for  many  weeks ; 
and  it  is  not  improbable  that  the  delay  was  intentional. 

1  Almon,  in  his  Memoirs  of  Wilkes,  denies  the  report  that  the  ministers 
had  decided  upon  a  policy  of  expulsion  before  parliament  met,  and  the  asser- 
tion, as  has  been  seen,  is  supported  by  independent  evidence.  "  The  report 
never  had  any  foundation  in  truth  :  the  editor  here  speaks  from  his  own  know- 
ledge. There  was  no  engagement  made,  nor  resolution  taken,  to  expel  Mr 
Wilkes  till  he  presented  his  petition.  On  the  contrary,  it  was  the  wish  of  the 
Duke  of  Grafton  that  Mr  Wilkes  should  take  his  seat  without  any  obstruction 
at  the  end  of  his  imprisonment  or,  perhaps,  sooner."  Almon  then  states  that 
on  November  ioth,  1768,  he  received  a  message  from  the  Duke  of  Grafton, 
through  Mr  Fitzherbert,  asking  him  to  tell  Wilkes  that  "  if  he  would  not  present 
his  petition,  the  duke  assured  him,  upon  his  honour,  no  attempt  should  be 
made  in  parliament  against  him  "  ;  and  that  Wilkes  refused  to  pay  any 
heed.     Almon's  Memoirs  of  John  Wilkes,  3,  293  seq. 

R 


258    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

Neither  the  ministers  nor  the  opposition  were  pro- 
bably anxious  to  plunge  headlong  into  the  fray,  wisely 
preferring  to  see  their  way  more  clearly  before  taking 
decisive  action.  Rockingham  had  not  been  taken 
into  Wilkes'  secret  counsels,  having  only  heard  of  the 
petition  forty-eight  hours  before  it  was  presented,1 
and  Grenville  was  studiously  careful  to  conceal  his 
opinion.2  For  Wilkes,  however,  to  be  ignored  was  worse 
than  to  be  attacked  ;  and  the  petition  having  failed  to 
provoke  the  desired  storm,  he  resolved  to  precipitate 
a  crisis,  and  goad  his  enemies  into  the  path  of  per- 
secution, by  making  a  personal  attack  upon  a  leading 
member  of  the  cabinet. 

On  April  17th,  1768,  Lord  Weymouth,  in  his  capacity 
of  secretary  of  state,  had  addressed  a  letter  to  Daniel 
Ponton,  one  of  the  Surrey  magistrates  and  chairman 
of  the  quarter  sessions  at  Lambeth,  giving  warning 
of  the  spirit  of  riot  and  disorder  which  was  abroad,  and 
recommending  both  him  and  his  fellow  magistrates 
not  to  hesitate  to  call  upon  the  military  for  assistance 
in  the  event  of  a  serious  tumult.  The  advice  was 
neither  untimely  nor  unnecessary.  For  many  days 
disorderly  conditions  had  prevailed  in  the  metropolis  ; 
and  on  May  10th,  the  day  of  the  opening  of  parliament, 
a  mob,  which  had  gathered  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
the  king's  bench  prison,  in  the  hope  of  seeing  Wilkes 
proceed  to  the  house  of  commons,  had  vented  their 
disappointment  in  disorder,  threatening  to  take  the 
prison  by  storm,  and  to  drag  their  incarcerated  hero 
in  triumph  to  parliament.     The  riot  act  was  read,  and 

1  Add.  MS.,  35430,  f-  130. 

2  "  It  is  very  odd,"  wrote  Lord  Hardwicke  in  November,  "  what  Lord 
Lyttelton  told  me,  that  George  Grenville  would  not  impart  to  any  of  his 
friends  what  part  he  intended  to  take,  and  he  described  the  debate  in  the 
house  as  the  strangest  he  ever  heard,  and  that  administration  seemed  to 
have  no  settled  plan  any  more  than  opposition."     Add.  MS.,  35362,  f.  235. 


THE  FALL  OF  GRAFTON  259 

the  soldiers  summoned  upon  the  scene  ;  and  the  tumult 
not  subsiding,  the  order  to  fire  was  given,  with  the  result 
that  about  five  or  six  persons  were  killed.  Popular 
indignation,  already  sufficiently  kindled  against  the 
government,  was  intensified  by  this  incident  which 
was  represented  as  a  wanton  massacre  of  innocent 
citizens  ;  and  political  capital  was  made  out  of  the 
entirely  immaterial  circumstance  that  the  soldiers 
employed  on  this  occasion  had  been  mainly  drawn 
from  Scotch  regiments.  Wilkes,  always  unscrupulous 
in  regard  to  the  choice  of  weapons,  and  ever  ready 
to  hurl  a  stone  at  the  government,  having  obtained  a 
copy  of  Weymouth's  letter,  published  it  in  the  St 
James'  Chronicle  on  December  8th,  with  an  intro- 
duction in  which  the  affray  of  May  ioth  was  repre- 
sented as  the  outcome  of  a  deliberate  plot  on  the  part 
of  the  ministers.  "  I  send  you,"  he  wrote,  "  the 
following  authentic  state-paper,  the  date  of  which, 
prior  by  more  than  three  weeks  to  the  fatal  ioth  of 
May,  shows  how  long  the  design  had  been  planned 
before  it  was  carried  into  execution,  and  how  long  a 
hellish  project  can  be  brooded  over  by  some  infernal 
spirits,  without  one  moment's  remorse."  1 

These  were  strong  words  and  bitterly  untrue  ;  and 
it  is  difficult  not  to  believe  that  by  this  stroke  of  malice 
Wilkes  intended  to  force  the  hand  of  the  government. 
On  any  other  hypothesis  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
explain  why  he  should  launch  this  bolt  when  his 
petition  was  under  consideration  by  the  house  of 
commons  ;  and,  if  the  assumption  be  correct,  he  can  be 
counted  to  have  succeeded.  The  hearing  of  the  petition 
had  been  postponed  until  January  27th,  1769  ;  but 
from  the  moment  that  the  letter  appeared  in  the  St 
James'  Chronicle,  the  ministers,  discarding  the  reserve 

1  Almon's  Memoirs  of  Wilkes,  3,  273  ff.  ;   Cavendish  Debates,  1,  106-107. 


260    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

which  had  hitherto  characterised  their  conduct,  de- 
clared war  upon  their  adversary,  and  determined  upon 
his  expulsion.  In  spite  of  the  protest  of  Lord  Camden, 
who  would  have  preferred  that  pardon  rather  than 
punishment  should  be  meted  out  to  the  offender,1 
the  cabinet  agreed  upon  a  policy  of  retaliation;  and 
although  this  decision  was  destined  to  lead  to  great 
disaster,  it  must  be  allowed  in  fairness  that  a  certain 
amount  of  justification  could  be  pleaded  in  support 
of  it.  The  king  and  the  Bedford  party  in  the  cabinet, 
who  had  always  been  in  favour  of  a  drastic  procedure, 
could  now  urge  that  it  was  vain  to  try  and  come  to 
terms  with  a  desperate  man  intent  upon  mischief  ; 
and  their  contention  had  sufficient  plausibility  to  make 
it  difficult  to  resist.  It  required  great  insight  to 
perceive  that,  since  he  sought  persecution,  the  most 
effective  punishment  for  Wilkes  would  be  forgiveness ; 
and  Grafton  was  hardly  the  man  to  disentangle  the 
threads  of  a  complicated  situation,  and  to  adhere  to 
a  policy  unintelligible  to  the  average  mind.  The 
victory  of  Wilkes  was  a  victory  of  intellect  over 
common-sense. 

The  attack  was  begun  in  the  house  of  lords,  which 
promptly  voted  the  introduction  to  Weymouth's 
letter  an  insolent,  scandalous  and  seditious  libel ;  and 
this  resolution  having  been  communicated  to  the  house 
of  commons  by  means  of  a  conference,  Lord  North, 
in  frank  disregard  of  all  principles  of  equity  and  justice, 
at  once  moved  the  concurrence  of  the  lower  house. 

1  "  I  do  wish,"  wrote  Camden  to  Grafton,  early  in  January,  "...  that  the 
present  time  could  be  eased  of  the  difficulties  that  Mr  W.'s  business  has  brought 
upon  the  government :  a  fatality  has  attended  it  from  the  beginning,  and  it 
grows  more  serious  every  day.  Your  grace  and  I  have  unfortunately  differed. 
I  wish  it  had  been  otherwise.  It  is  a  hydra  multiplying  by  resistance  and 
gathering  strength  by  every  attempt  to  subdue  it.  As  the  times  are,  I  had 
rather  pardon  W.  than  punish  him.  This  is  a  political  opinion,  independent 
of  the  merits  of  the  cause."     Grafton's  Autobiography,  p.  201. 


THE  FALL  OF  GRAFTON  261 

Such  precipitancy,  however,  was  too  much  even  for 
the  seared  and  easy-going  political  conscience  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  no  witnesses  having  yet  been 
examined  by  the  commons  to  prove  the  authorship 
of  the  libellous  introduction  ;  and  a  revolt  took  place 
in  the  ministerial  ranks.  Recovering  for  the  moment 
some  of  his  old  independence  of  spirit,  Conway  dared 
to  oppose  North,  contending  that  "  the  great  point 
we  are  now  agitating  is  matter  for  grave  discussion, 
and  should  be  postponed " ;  and,  much  to  North's 
disgust,  a  similar  protest  was  made  by  Dunning,  the 
solicitor-general.1  The  same  cry  was  echoed  by  the 
speakers  on  the  opposition  side  :  Burke  and  Grenville 
united  to  deprecate  such  unnecessary  and  uncon- 
stitutional haste,  and  the  former  significantly  inquired 
whether  the  house  was  prepared  to  model  itself  upon 
the  court  of  star  chamber.2  For  mere  argument, 
however  convincing,  North  cared  little  enough,  but, 
fearing  that  he  might  be  borne  down  by  sheer  weight 
of  numbers,3  he  abandoned  his  motion,  and  it  was  agreed 
that  evidence  should  be  taken.  In  accordance  with 
this  resolution,  witnesses  were  examined  by  the  house 
on  December  19th,  and,  after  their  testimony  had  been 
heard,  it  was  agreed  to  postpone  further  action  until 
January  27th,  the  day  already  appointed  for  hearing 
Wilkes'  petition.4 

This  was,  however,  but  a  momentary  check  to  the 
government,  and  when  parliament  re-assembled  after 
the  Christmas  holidays,  the  attack  was  promptly  re- 
newed. It  was,  of  course,  a  foregone  conclusion  that 
Wilkes'    petition   would   be   dismissed,    and   although 

1  Grafton's  Autobiography,  pp.  227-228. 

2  Almon's  Memoirs  of  Wilkes,  3,  273  ft.  ;    Cavendish  Debates,  1,  106-107  '• 
Add.  MS.,  35430,  f.  136  ;   Harris'  Hardwicke,  3,  425-429. 

3  Add.  MS.,  35430,  f.  136. 

4  Add.  MS.,  35608,  f.  309  ;    Cavendish  Debates,  I,  11 1  ff. 


262    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

three  days  were  occupied  in  discussing  it,  this  was  but 
a  concession  to  decency,  with  little  relation  to  reality. 
The  petition  having  been  rejected  on  Wednesday, 
February  ist,  the  way  was  clear  for  further  and  more 
decisive  action,  and,  on  the  day  following,  the  house 
promptly  set  to  work  upon  the  introduction  to 
Weymouth's  letter.  The  evidence  given  in  the  previous 
December  clearly  pointed  to  Wilkes  as  the  author  ; 
but  any  difficulty,  that  might  have  arisen  in  establish- 
ing the  proof,  was  averted  by  the  victim  himself. 
Summoned  to  the  bar  of  the  house,  Wilkes  avowed 
himself  the  author  of  the  offensive  introduction,  and 
then  proceeded,  with  characteristic  effrontery,  not  only 
to  describe  the  secretary  of  state's  letter  as  "  a  bloody 
scroll,"  but  to  apologise  to  his  hearers  for  using  so  mild 
and  inadequate  an  expression.  It  was  not,  however, 
sufficient  to  prove  that  Wilkes  was  the  author  in  order 
completely  to  justify  further  action  :  another  obstacle 
in  the  path  was  the  not  unimportant  question  whether 
the  house  of  commons  was  the  proper  body  to  take 
cognisance  of  the  offence.  The  libel  in  question  had 
been  directed  against  a  member  of  the  house  of  lords, 
and  it  might  reasonably  be  contended  that  it  was  the 
business  of  the  peers,  not  of  the  commons,  to  punish 
the  offender.  Such  was  the  line  of  argument  adopted 
by  Grenville  who  inquired  whether  it  was  intended 
that,  whenever  "  a  libel  against  any  of  his  majesty's 
ministers  in  the  other  house  is  sent  to  this,  we  are  to 
take  it  up,"  and  the  point  was  of  a  nature  to  appeal 
to  Grenville's  legal  caste  of  mind,  though  hardly  likely 
to  strike  a  responsive  chord  in  the  average  man  not 
enamoured  with  precedents.  The  ministerial  action 
was  more  against  reason  than  law,  and  Burke  spoke 
truly,  and  in  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  when  he  declared 
that  what  was  being  done  would  go  far  to  make  Wilkes 


THE  FALL  OF  GRAFTON  263 

the  most  dangerous  member  of  the  state,  and  endear 
him  still  more  to  the  riotous  elements  in  the  nation. 
"  As  I  will  ever  pray,"  he  said  in  conclusion,  "  for  the 
peace  of  Jerusalem,  so  I  say,  let  those  who  pursue 
these  measures  answer  for  the  consequences."  1 

In  spite,  however,  of  Grenville's  learning  and  Burke's 
wisdom,  the  big  battalions  carried  the  government  to 
victory,  the  introduction  being  voted  an  insolent, 
scandalous,  and  seditious  libel.  If  action  had  been 
stayed  there,  much  harm  might  have  been  avoided ; 
but,  as  all  men  knew,  all  that  had  been  done  hitherto 
was  but  a  preliminary  to  the  expulsion  which  had  been 
decreed.  On  February  3rd,  Lord  Barrington  moved  that 
"  John  Wilkes,  Esq.,  a  member  of  this  house,  who 
hath  at  the  bar  of  this  house,  confessed  himself  to  be 
the  author  and  publisher  of  what  this  house  has  resolved 
to  be  an  insolent,  scandalous,  and  seditious  libel ; 
and  who  has  been  convicted  in  the  court  of  king's  bench 
of  having  printed  and  published  a  seditious  libel, 
and  three  obscene  and  impious  libels,  and,  by  the 
judgment  of  the  said  court,  has  been  sentenced  to 
undergo  twenty  months'  imprisonment,  and  is  now  in 
execution  under  the  said  judgment,  be  expelled  this 
house."  Seconded  by  Rigby,  one  of  the  most  aban- 
doned members  of  the  Bedford  party,  the  motion  was 
fiercely  debated  until  three  o'clock  on  the  following 
morning  ;  and  in  the  course  of  the  discussion  much  good 
advice  was  tendered  to  the  ministers,  which  they 
would  have  done  well  to  accept.  A  certain  number 
of  the  speakers  on  the  opposition  side  pointed  out  that, 
if  the  motion  was  carried,  the  house  of  commons  would 
certainly  lose  a  member  whose  popularity  outside  the 
house  was  unequalled,  and  that  it  was  the  business 
of  the  parliament  to  interpret,  not  to  thwart,  the  will 

1  Cavendish  Debates,  I,  139. 


264    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

of  the  nation.  The  speech  of  the  evening,  however, 
was  made  by  George  Grenville.1  Carefully  disclaim- 
ing all  connection  with  either  the  ministry  or  the 
Rockingham  party,2  he  announced  that  he  was  im- 
pelled by  his  conscience  to  stand  up  in  defence  of  the 
man  he  had  formerly  attacked  ;  and,  having  made  this 
personal  confession,  proceeded  to  riddle  the  rather  thin 
ministerial  armour  with  well-aimed  shafts.  It  was 
comparatively  easy  for  him  to  show  the  wanton  iniquity 
of  Barrington's  motion,  combining  as  it  did  four 
separate  reasons  for  Wilkes'  expulsion  in  one  resolution. 
"  Is  it  not  evident,"  he  inquired,  "  that  by  this  un- 
worthy artifice,  Mr  Wilkes  may  be  expelled,  although 
three  parts  in  four  of  those  who  expel  him  should  have 
declared  against  his  expulsion  upon  every  one  of  the 
articles  contained  in  this  charge."  In  clear  and  vigorous 
language  he  explained  how  some  members  would  think 
his  imprisonment  sufficient  ground  for  expulsion, 
others  his  conviction  for  libel,  and  others  his  attack 
upon  Weymouth,  and  that  the  resolution  would  be 
carried  by  a  majority  unable  to  lay  any  claim  to 
unanimity  of  opinion.  Then,  proceeding  from  the 
general  to  the  particular,  he  enumerated  singly  the 
charges  brought  against  Wilkes,  and  showed  how 
insufficient  they  were  to  justify  expulsion.  He  pointed 
out  that  it  was  not  the  business  of  the  house  of  commons 
to  punish  a  libel  upon  a  peer  of  the  realm,  that  imprison- 
ment had  never  been  reckoned  a  disqualification  for  a 
seat  in  the  lower  house,  and  that  to  expel  Wilkes  for 
his  libel  upon  the  king's  speech  and  the  "  Essay  on 

1  "  My  brother  made,"  wrote  Temple  to  Lady  Chatham,  "  what  was  univer- 
sally deemed  the  best  speech  he  ever  made  against  expulsion."  Chatham 
Correspondence,  3,  349-350. 

2  "  I  am,"  remarked  Grenville,  "  under  no  restraint  either  from  this  or 
that  side  of  the  house  ;  I  know  and  feel  my  own  independence  on  (sic)  both." 
Cavendish  Debates,  1,  159. 


THE  FALL  OF  GRAFTON  265 

Woman  "  was  a  gross  violation  of  that  sacred  principle 
of  justice  by  which  no  man  can  be  punished  twice 
for  the  same  offence.  In  conclusion  he  predicted  the 
consequences  of  the  expulsion,  and  his  prophecy  was 
only  too  literally  fulfilled.  "  In  the  present  disposition 
of  the  county  of  Middlesex,"  he  said,  "  you  cannot 
entertain  a  doubt,  but  that  Mr  Wilkes  will  be  re-elected 
after  his  expulsion.  You  will  then  probably  think 
yourselves  under  a  necessity  of  expelling  him  again, 
and  he  will  as  certainly  be  again  re-elected.  What 
steps  can  the  house  then  take  to  put  an  end  to  a  dis- 
graceful contest,  in  which  their  justice  is  arraigned,  and 
their  authority  and  dignity  essentially  compromised  ? 
You  cannot,  by  the  rules  of  the  house,  rescind  the  vote 
for  excluding  Mr  Wilkes  in  the  same  session  in  which 
it  has  passed,  and  I  know  but  two  other  methods  which 
you  can  pursue.  They  have  both  been  the  subject 
of  common  conversation,  and  are  both  almost  equally 
exceptionable.  You  may  refuse  to  issue  a  new  writ, 
and  by  that  means  deprive  the  freeholders  of  this 
country  of  the  right  of  choosing  any  other  represent- 
ative, possibly  for  the  whole  term  of  the  present  parlia- 
ment. ...  If  you  do  not  adopt  this  proceeding,  the 
other  alternative  will  be  to  bring  into  this  house,  as  the 
knight  of  the  shire  for  Middlesex,  a  man  chosen  by  a 
few  voters  only,  in  contradiction  to  the  declared  sense 
of  a  great  majority  of  the  freeholders  on  the  face  of 
the  poll,  upon  a  supposition,  that  all  the  votes  of  the 
latter  are  forfeited  and  thrown  away,  on  account  of 
the  expulsion  of  Mr  Wilkes."  x 

Thus  spoke  Grenville,  to  the  astonishment  of  many 
who  believed  that  in  him  Wilkes  had  a  relentless 
enemy,  and  that  his  words  carried  some  weight  can  be 
seen  by  the  marked  reduction  of  the  usual  ministerial 

1  Cavendish  Debates,  1 ,  151  ff . 


266    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

majority,  Barrington's  motion  being  only  carried  by 
eighty-two  votes.1  If  this,  however,  had  been  the 
only  consequence,  the  victory  over  Wilkes  could  be 
counted  to  have  been  easily  and  cheaply  won  :  un- 
fortunately, for  the  ministerial  peace  of  mind,  the 
events  of  the  third  of  February  were  only  the  beginning 
of  a  long  and  arduous  campaign.  Grenville  had  not 
long  to  wait  before  his  prediction  was  fulfilled,  and 
from  the  king's  bench  prison  Wilkes  contrived  to  draw 
the  administration  further  and  further  into  a  morass 
from  which  they  were  never  really  to  emerge.  All 
the  advantage  of  the  game  lay  with  him,  for  he  could 
rely  with  absolute  certainty  upon  the  loyalty  of  his 
constituents,  and  he  would  have  been  little  short  of 
a  political  craven,  instead  of  a  man  of  unusual  courage, 
if  he  had  accepted  his  first  expulsion  as  a  final  defeat. 
Appealing  once  more  to  the  faithful  county  of  Middle- 
sex, he  was  re-elected  a  member  of  parliament  on 
February  16th,  only  to  be  again  deprived  of  his  seat 
on  the  following  day  when  Lord  Strange  moved  and 
carried  that  "  John  Wilkes,  Esq.,  having  been,  in 
this  session  of  parliament,  expelled  this  house,  was, 
and  is,  incapable  of  being  elected  a  member  to  serve 
in  this  present  parliament  "  ;  and  he  encountered  the 
same  fate  when  he  was  elected  for  the  third  time  in 
the  month  of  March.  That  he  should  be  deprived 
of  his  place  in  parliament  almost  as  soon  as  he  became 
entitled  to  it,  mattered  little  enough  to  him,  for  he  could 
plume  himself  upon  covering  the  administration  with 
ridicule  ;  but  it  ought  to  be  remembered  that,  futile 
as  such  proceedings  were,  and  illegal  as  Lord  Strange's 
motion  was,2  the  royal  advisers  were  in  a  situation 

1  Hist.  MS.  Comm.  Weston  Underwood  MSS.,  412. 

2  This  motion  was,  of  course,  not  legally  sound,  since  it  was  beyond  the 
power  of  either  house,  acting  alone,  to  declare  any  man,  not  disqualified  by 
law,  incapable  of  being  elected. 


THE  FALL  OF  GRAFTON  267 

of  no  little  difficulty.  Wilkes  could  not  be  allowed  to 
take  his  seat  in  the  same  session  in  which  he  had  been 
expelled,  for  this  would  be  to  reduce  the  punitive 
powers  of  the  house  of  commons  to  an  idle  sham  ; 
and  there  were  not  a  few  politicians  who,  while  firmly 
convinced  that  the  original  expulsion  was  a  fatal  and 
irretrievable  error,  were  yet  of  the  opinion  that  the 
house  was  bound  by  its  own  irrevocable  decree.  Thus 
George  Grenville,  while  affirming  that  he  would  always 
resist  "  the  expulsion  of  any  man,  unless  I  hear  better 
reasons  than  any  I  have  heard  given  for  the  expulsion 
of  Mr  Wilkes,"  declared  that  "  the  house  has  come  to 
a  resolution,  that  this  gentleman  is  inadmissible  : 
in  this  session,  therefore,  he  cannot  take  his  seat  amongst 
us."  1  The  reasoning  was  just,  and  in  accordance  with 
the  custom  of  parliament ;  and  both  Burke,  who  had 
protested  so  strongly  on  February  3rd,  and  Conway, 
who  had  stayed  away  rather  than  do  his  conscience 
wrong  by  voting  with  his  colleagues,2  were  in  agree- 
ment with  Grenville. 

Custom  and  precedence,  however,  are  not  always 
in  accordance  with  the  claims  of  common-sense  ;  and 
it  was  difficult  to  disguise  the  truth  that  the  house  of 
commons  was  in  a  thoroughly  false  position.  Manacled 
by  fetters  of  its  own  contriving,  the  house  was  obliged 
to  sanction  an  evil  because  it  could  not  repair  it  ;  and 
with  that  broad  and  comprehensive  grasp  which 
characterises  so  many  of  his  utterances,  Burke  ex- 
plained the  fundamental  issues  of  what  might,  super- 
ficially, appear  to  be  a  rather  idle  controversy.  "  The 
honourable  gentleman,"  he  remarked  in  the  course 
of  one  debate,  "  who  moved  the  present  resolution, 
has  put  it  upon  its  true  footing  :  he  has  described  it  as 
a  contest  of  five  hundred  and  fifty-eight  members  of. 

1  Cavendish  Debates,  i,  348.  2  Cavendish  Debates,  1,  351-352. 


268     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

this  house  against  the  county  of  Middlesex  ;  a  contest 
between  the  electors  and  the  elected  ;  the  electors 
looking  upon  themselves  to  be  the  root  of  power. 
If  ever  that  contest  should  spread  beyond  the  county 
of  Middlesex,  it  will  be  a  contest  between  five  hundred 
and  fifty-eight  members  of  this  house  and  several 
millions  of  people.  I  do  not  say  it  is  so  ;  but  it  is 
our  business  to  show  it  is  the  contrary.  This  house  has 
had  contests  with  the  crown  ;  this  house  has  had 
contests  with  the  house  of  lords  ;  but  this  is  the  first 
time  it  has  had  a  contest  with  the  people.  Such  a 
contest  would  be  the  most  destructive  civil  war  ever 
carried  on."  1 

This  was  the  constitutional,  and  therefore  the  most 
important,  aspect  of  the  struggle ;  and  into  this  dilemma 
had  the  house  of  commons  been  driven  by  a  clever 
rascal  and  incompetent  ministers.  Both  parties  in 
the  contest  could  claim  in  a  measure  that  the  law  was 
on  their  side  ;  and  therefore,  if  neither  would  give  way, 
the  controversy  was  legally  insoluble.  Though  in 
asserting  that  Wilkes  was  incapable  of  being  elected, 
the  house  had  clearly  exceeded  its  powers,  it  was 
impossible  to  deny  the  right  of  either  house  to  inflict 
the  penalty  of  expulsion ;  but  equally  beyond  dispute 
was  the  right  of  a  constituency  to  elect  as  its  repre- 
sentative any  man  not  disqualified  by  law  for  a  seat 
in  the  house  of  commons  ;  and  neither  conviction  for 
libel,  imprisonment,  nor  even  expulsion,  had  ever 
been  reckoned  as  a  bar  to  re-election.  Thus  it  seemed 
likely  that,  until  the  end  of  the  session,  Wilkes  would  be 
repeatedly  elected  by  the  county  of  Middlesex,  and 
repeatedly  declared  incapable  of  sitting  by  the  house 
of  commons,  and  it  is  beyond  all  doubt  that  in  this  idle 
game   the   ministers   would   be   the   sufferers.     What 

1  Cavendish  Debates,  i ,  348  ff. 


\ 


THE  FALL  OF  GRAFTON  269 

little  dignity  they  still  retained,  and  it  was  little  enough, 
would  be  entirely  lost  in  such  an  ignoble  and  ludicrous 
contest,  and  they  decided  to  extricate  themselves  from 
a  farcical  situation  by  a  flagrant  violation  of  the  law 
of  the  land,  thus  adding  crime  to  folly.  The  first 
fruits  of  this  determination  were  seen  in  April  when 
Wilkes,  standing  for  election  for  the  fourth  time,  found 
himself  opposed  by  Colonel  Luttrell,  a  man  of  very 
doubtful  reputation,  who  had  been  persuaded  by  the 
ministry  to  come  forward  as  a  candidate.  Naturally 
enough,  Luttrell  failed  to  secure  election,  Wilkes  being 
victorious  over  him  by  more  than  eight  hundred  votes  ; 
but  this  by  no  means  meant  that  the  government 
had  failed  in  its  enterprise.  The  ministers  had  neither 
expected  nor  intended  to  defeat  Wilkes  at  the  poll  ; 
and  the  inner  meaning  of  Luttrell's  candidature 
was  revealed  when  the  Middlesex  election  came  for 
the  fourth  time  under  the  consideration  of  the  lower 
house.  In  accordance  with  what  was  by  this  time  a 
well-established  precedent,  Wilkes,  on  April  14th,  was 
expelled  from  the  house  ;  but  on  this  occasion  this  was 
but  a  preliminary  move,  for  on  the  following  day 
George  Onslow  moved  that  Luttrell  should  be  declared 
to  have  been  duly  elected  for  the  county  of  Middlesex. 
The  motion  was  carried ;  and  when,  a  few  weeks  later, 
a  petition,  signed  by  fifteen  freeholders  of  Middlesex 
protesting  against  such  an  infringement  of  their  legal 
rights,  was  discussed  in  the  house,  it  was  again  resolved 
that  "  Henry  Lawes  Luttrell,  Esq.,  is  duly  elected  a 
knight  of  the  shire  to  serve  in  this  present  parliament." 
That  such  a  solution  of  the  problem  was  illegal  there 
is  no  doubt,  and  it  was  not  rendered  any  less  illegal 
by  the  fact  that  there  was  no  court  in  the  land  which 
could  call  the  house  of  commons  to  account  for  its 
action.     It  is  clear  that  the  lower  house  had  the  right 


270    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

of  deciding  contested  election,  and  of  expelling  its  own 
members  ;  but  in  the  exercise  of  these  functions  it 
acted  as  a  judicial,  not  as  a  legislative  body,  concerned 
not  with  the  making  but  with  the  execution  of  law.  It 
is  an  axiom  of  the  constitution  that  neither  house  of 
parliament  acting  alone  has  any  legislative  power  ; 
yet  the  recognition  of  Luttrell  as  the  member  for 
Middlesex  was  a  legislative  rather  than  a  judicial  act, 
for  it  could  only  be  justified  on  the  ground  that  Wilkes 
was  legally  incapable  of  being  elected,  a  contention 
not  supported  by  existing  law.  Eligibility  for  election 
to  parliament  was  emphatically  a  legal  right,  based 
upon  statute  and  common  law ;  and  therefore,  in 
passing  over  Wilkes  in  favour  of  Luttrell,  the  house 
of  commons  took  upon  itself  to  make  a  new  disqualifica- 
tion, and  thereby  to  create  law.  Plausible  arguments 
were,  indeed,  urged  in  support  of  the  ministerial  action, 
more  than  sufficient  to  confuse  men  unversed  in  legal 
subtleties  and  not  trained  to  think  clearly  ;  but  they 
were  one  and  all  fallacious,  resting  upon  a  confusion 
between  legislative  and  judicial  power.  "  The  lawyers 
for  the  court,"  wrote  Burke  to  his  friend,  Lord 
Charlemont,  "  were,  as  they  have  generally  been  for 
some  time  past,  bold  and  profligate.  The  chief  argu- 
ments which  they  insisted  upon,  were,  that  when  a  court, 
having  competent  jurisdiction  in  a  cause,  has  deter- 
mined, its  determination  is  the  law  of  the  land  until 
it  is  reversed  ;  that  we  had  jurisdiction  in  all  causes 
relative  to  election  ;  that  we  had  already  determined 
this  point  ;  it  was  therefore  against  order,  to  debate  it 
again,  and  against  law  to  contradict  the  determination 
of  a  court  from  whence  no  appeal  lay.  That  the  house 
had  a  power  to  qualify  or  disqualify  without  any  other 
rule  than  their  own  discretion  ;  and  Blackstone  went 
so  far  as  to  say  that  '  if  he  affirmed  that  we  could  make 


THE  FALL  OF  GRAFTON  271 

laws,  he  could  support  himself  by  respectable 
authorities.'  "  x 

If  such  arguments  were  sound,  a  single  house  of 
parliament  could  override  law,  saddle  constituencies 
with  members  which  they  had  never  elected,  and 
exercise  a  despotism  almost  as  unchecked  as  that  of 
a  Tudor  monarch  ;  and  such  a  doctrine  had  only  to 
be  advanced  to  encounter  sincere  and  emphatic  protest. 
Fierce  and  protracted  were  the  debates  in  the  lower 
house  ;  and  the  weakness  of  the  government's  position 
is  attested  by  the  reduction  in  its  majority.2  Indeed, 
all  the  weight  of  argument  lay  with  the  opposition, 
and  the  debates,  barren  as  they  were  in  practical 
effect,  are  rich  in  expositions  of  true  constitutional 
doctrine.  "  The  man,"  exclaimed  Grenville  on  April 
15th,  "  who  will  contend  that  a  resolution  of  the  house 
of  commons  is  the  law  of  the  land  is  a  most  violent 
enemy  of  his  country ;  be  he  who  or  what  he  will "  ; 
and  the  same  sentiments  were  expressed  by  Burke, 
Dowdeswell,  Wedderburn,  Barre,  and,  indeed,  by 
nearly  every  speaker  who  raised  his  voice  in  protest 
against  the  violation  of  the  law. 

Undoubtedly,  the  hero  of  this  parliamentary  contest 
was  George  Grenville  ;  and  against  his  many  short- 
comings as  a  statesman,  his  conduct  at  this  national 
and  constitutional  crisis  ought  to  be  remembered. 
As  will  be  seen  later,  his  enemies  were  prepared  to 
give  the  most  sinister  explanation  of  his  defence  of 
Wilkes  ;  but  it  is  not  necessary  to  believe  that 
politicians  are  always  swayed  by  the  basest  motives, 
and  there  was  nothing  inconsistent  in  the  course  of 

1  Hist.  MSS.  Comm.,  12th  Report,  Appendix,  Part  x.,  293-294. 

2  On  April  15th,  the  numbers  on  a  division  were  197  to  143 ;  and  on  May 
8th,  221  to  152.  For  a  general  account  of  the  two  debates,  see  Cavendish 
Debates,  1,  366  ff.,  406  ff  ;  Hist.  MSS.  Comm.,  12th  Report,  Appendix, 
Part  x.,  293-294  ;    Chatham's  Correspondence,  3,  357-359. 


272     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

action  which  Grenville  pursued.  He  fought  for  the 
supremacy  of  the  law  rather  than  for  Wilkes  ;  and  a 
reverence  for  law  had  always  been  a  dominating  passion 
in  his  rather  narrow  mind.  Indeed,  the  same  insistent 
belief  in  principle  which  led  him  to  tax  the  American 
colonists  in  1765,  impelled  him  to  stand  up  in  defence 
of  Wilkes  four  years  later  ;  and  his  true  greatness 
lay  in  successfully  overcoming  the  prejudice  which  he 
must  have  contracted  against  the  man  who,  at  one  time, 
had  been  a  thorn  in  his  flesh.  But  the  appearance  of 
Grenville  in  the  unaccustomed  role  of  a  champion  of 
freedom  had  a  greater  importance  than  as  merely 
effecting  his  own  personal  reputation  ;  and  it  was  only 
natural  that  the  Rockingham  whigs,  or  at  least  some  of 
them,  beheld  in  him  at  this  moment  a  very  Daniel 
come  to  judgment.  To  some  of  the  more  sanguine  it 
seemed  that  Wilkes,  who  had  threatened  to  be  a  cause 
of  still  further  division,  might  prove  to  be  a  bond  of 
union  between  the  two  parties  in  opposition  ;  and  that 
the  politicians,  who  had  quarrelled  over  the  govern- 
ment of  the  colonies,  might  unite  in  defence  of  the 
English  constitution.  While  the  fight  in  parliament 
was  still  continuing,  and  before  the  law  had  been 
actually  broken  by  the  government,  it  was  rumoured 
that  an  alliance  had  been  concluded  between  Grenville 
and  the  Rockingham  whigs  ;  x  and  though  the  report 
had  no  foundation  in  fact,  it  witnesses  to  the  popular 
opinion  as  to  the  probable  outcome  of  the  struggle 
on  behalf  of  Wilkes.  Indeed,  the  time  had  come 
round  again  for  another  attempt  at  a  rapprochement 
between  the  two  sections  of  the  opposition  ;  and  in  true 
English  fashion  a  dinner  was  fixed  upon  as  the  best 
means  of  laying  the  foundations  of  future  harmony. 
Accordingly,  when  on  May  8th  the  Rockinghams  and 

1  Grenville  Papers,  4,  412-414. 


THE  FALL  OF  GRAFTON  273 

the  Grenvilles  were  gathered  together  in  the  same 
division  lobby,  Dowdeswell  seized  the  occasion  to 
suggest  that  they  should  dine  together  on  the  following 
day  at  the  Thatched  House  Tavern.  The  proposal 
was  agreed  to,  and  on  May  9th  more  than  seventy  of 
the  opposition  met  at  the  appointed  tavern,  George 
Grenville,  as  well  as  the  leaders  of  the  Rockingham 
party,  being  included  in  the  number.  A  formidable  list 
of  twenty-one  toasts,  beginning  with,  "  The  king  and 
constitution  ;  the  right  of  electors  ;  the  law  of  the  land," 
and  ending  with  "  To  our  next  happy  meeting,"  was 
conscientiously  worked  through ;  and  under  the 
mellowing  influence  of  good  food  and  drink,  old 
hostilities  were  forgotten  and  new  hopes  born.  "  The 
whole  meeting,"  in  the  words  of  Temple  who,  though 
not  present,  probably  received  an  account  of  what 
passed  from  Grenville,  "appeared  to  be  that  of  brothers, 
united  in  one  great  constitutional  cause  "  ;  and  another 
opponent  of  the  government  remarked,  in  a  letter  to 
a  friend,  that  "it  is  to  be  hoped  from  the  occurrences 
of  the  day  that  all  the  sub-divisions  of  the  minority 
will  be  consolidated  into  one  grand  constitutional 
party."  » 

Such,  indeed,  was  the  hope  of  many  ;  but  serious 
obstacles  would  have  to  be  overcome,  before  it  could  be 
brought  even  near  to  realisation.  The  need  for  such 
an  union  was  certainly  greater  than  it  had  ever  yet 
been ;  for,  the  parliamentary  session  having  ended 
on  May  9th,  the  time  had  now  come  for  the  defenders 
of  Wilkes  to  appeal  to  the  country  against  a  law- 
breaking  house  of  commons,  and  to  bring  popular 
pressure  to  bear  upon  the  ministry  and  its  supporters. 
Nor  were  they  likely  to  appeal  in  vain,  the  administra- 

1  Chatham  Correspondence,  3,  357  ff.  ;    Walpole's  Memoirs,  3,  242  ;    Hist. 
MSS.  Comm.,  12th  Report,  Appendix,  Part  x.,  294. 

S 


274     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

tion  having  by  this  time  become  more  discredited  than 
ever.  The  mysterious  Junius  had  already  begun  the 
publication  of  those  virulent  epistles  which,  whatever 
their  defects,  will  always  rank  high  in  the  annals  of 
vituperative  literature ;  but  it  hardly  needed  his 
vitriolic  pen  to  arouse  the  wrath  of  a  nation  aflame 
with  indignation  against  a  house  of  commons  which  had 
defied  it.  There  is  no  shadow  of  doubt  that  Wilkes 
had  won  the  stakes  for  which  he  had  played  ;  and  any 
inconvenience  he  may  have  suffered  was  amply  com- 
pensated for  by  the  popularity  he  enjoyed.  His 
sufferings,  often  grotesquely  exaggerated,  formed  the 
theme  of  conversation  in  obscure  villages  and  hamlets, 
and  he  enjoyed  true  fame  since  his  name  was  a  house- 
hold word  to  many  who  had  not  the  slightest  idea  of 
the  cause  of  his  imprisonment  or  expulsion.1  Neither 
Wilkes  nor  his  supporters  were  likely  to  make  the 
mistake  of  allowing  such  a  favourable  soil  to  go  un- 
tilled  ;  and  the  popular  agitation  on  his  behalf  began 
many  weeks  before  the  parliamentary  session  came  to 
an  end.  A  meeting  of  his  principal  supporters  was 
held  on  February  21st  at  the  London  Tavern,  at  which 
a  subscription  for  the  relief  of  his  financial  necessities 
was  started,  and  a  society  formed,  styled  "  The 
Supporters   of  the   Bill   of   Rights,"   and  pledged  to 

1  Writing  to  Lord  Dartmouth  in  August  1769,  the  Rev.  John  Newton 
states  how  "  a  few  months  I  heard  that  some  of  them  in  their  prayers  at 
home  had  been  much  engaged  for  the  welfare  of  Mr  Wilkes.  As  the  whole 
town  of  Olney  is  remarkably  loyal  and  peaceable  with  regard  to  the  govern- 
ment, I  was  rather  surprised  that  gentleman  should  have  partisans  amongst 
our  serious  people.  Upon  inquiry  I  found  they  had  just  heard  of  his  name, 
and  that  he  was  in  prison  ;  comparing  the  imperfect  account  they  had  of 
him  with  what  they  read  in  their  Bibles,  they  took  it  for  granted  that  a 
person  so  treated  must  of  necessity  be  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  and  under 
that  character  they  prayed  earnestly  that  he  might  be  supported  and  enlarged. 
Your  lordship  will  perhaps  be  surprised  that  in  this  time  of  general  ferment 
the  whole  story  of  Mr  Wilkes  should  be  utterly  unknown  to  many  people  in 
a  market- town  within  sixty  miles  of  London.  But  this  is  the  fact."  Hist. 
MSS.  Comm.,  15th  Report,  Appendix,  Part  i.,  190-191. 


THE  FALL  OF  GRAFTON  275 

maintain  the  English  constitution.1  This  new  organisa- 
tion was  not  slow  in  getting  to  work,  drawing  up, 
shortly  after  the  intrusion  of  Luttrell  into  the  house 
of  commons,  a  petition  to  the  king,  rehearsing  the 
popular  grievances  and  calling  for  the  dismissal  of 
the  ministers.2  After  being  widely  signed,  the  petition 
was  presented  to  the  king  on  May  24th,  and  was  received 
in  contemptuous  silence  by  the  monarch  who,  at  the 
outset  of  his  reign,  had  professed  to  make  war  on 
faction  in  the  name  and  in  the  interests  of  his  people.3 
Nor  was  this  the  only  manifestation  that  not  an 
inconsiderable  proportion  of  the  nation  had  declared 
for  Wilkes,  and  against  George  III.  and  his  advisers. 
Various  counties  and  boroughs  began  to  send  in- 
structions to  their  representatives  in  parliament, 
directing  them  to  support  Wilkes  and  the  English 
constitution ;  and  although  the  adherents  of  the  court 
engineered  counter-addresses,  professing  unbounded 
loyalty  to  the  court  and  faith  in  the  government,  it 
was  notorious  that  these  were  sometimes  only  obtained 
with  very  great  difficulty ;  and  they  could  hardly 
fail  to  be  discredited  by  the  obviously  artificial  character 
of  their  origin.4  Indeed,  the  great  pains  taken  to 
create  the  impression  that  the  ministry  enjoyed  the 
favour  of  the  country  was  in  itself  a  proof  that  the 
reverse  was  true  ;  and  the  wisest  amongst  the  sup- 
porters of  the  court  must  have  realised  that  they  had 
taken  a  plunge  into  deep  waters  from  which  they 
might  not  possibly  emerge  in  safety.  Men,  acquainted 
with  the  history  of  the  previous  century,  were  reminded, 
by  what  they  saw  going  on  around  them,  of  the  days  of 

1  Walpole's  Memoirs,  3,  225. 

2  Hist.  MSS.  Comm.  Weston  Underwood  MSS.,  415;    Walpole's  Letters, 
5,  162,  163. 

3  Bedford  Correspondence,  3,  409. 

4  Walpole's  Memoirs,  3,  225,  227,  231. 


276     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

Charles  II.  when  the  country  was  divided  up  into 
petitioners  and  abhorrers  ;  and  the  parallel  was  by- 
no  means  far-fetched.1  Yet  the  misfortunes  of  the 
state  are  sometimes  the  benefits  of  a  political  party  ; 
and  if,  before  the  next  session,  Rockingham  and 
Grenville  could  settle  their  differences  and  rally  the 
country  to  their  side,  they  might  return  to  parliament 
as  the  leaders  of  an  united  party  approved  by  the 
nation,  and  use  their  newly-acquired  strength  to 
destroy  the  administration,  and  fight  their  way  into 
the  royal  closet  at  the  point  of  the  sword.  Divided 
and  leaderless,  the  ministry  could  hardly  withstand 
an  onslaught  pressed  to  the  very  end. 

If  such  was  the  outcome  of  the  dinner  at  the  Thatched 
House  Tavern,  those  who  had  attended  that  convivial 
gathering  would  have  ample  cause  for  self-congratula- 
tion ;  and  it  was  not  only  Burke  who  understood  that 
"if  we  mean  to  get  redress,  we  must  strengthen  the 
hands  of  the  minority  within  doors,  by  the  accession 
of  the  public  opinion,  strongly  declared  to  the  court, 
which  is  the  source  of  the  whole  mischief."  2  What 
the  Rockinghams  had  so  eagerly  and,  hitherto  so  vainly, 
waited  for,  the  approval  of  the  people,  now  appeared 
to  be  within  their  grasp ;  and  it  was  not  necessary  for 
them  so  much  to  create  an  agitation  against  the  govern- 
ment as  to  use  one  already  in  existence.  No  sooner 
was  parliament  prorogued  than  the  king  and  his 
ministers  began  to  be  inundated  with  a  flood  of  petitions 
which,  though  varying  in  violence,  agreed  in  denouncing 
the  admission  of  Luttrell  as  a  gross  breach  of  the 
constitution.  A  most  violent  petition  by  the  Livery 
of    London,     rehearsing    past     as    well    as    present 

1  "  Does  not  all  this  nonsense  on  all  sides,"  wrote  Lord  Hardwicke,  "  put 
you  in  mind  of  the  dregs  of  Charles  the  2nd's  reign  with  addressing  and  ab- 
horring."    Add.  MS.,  35362,  f.  240. 

2  Burke's  Correspondence,  1,  179-183. 


THE  FALL  OF  GRAFTON  277 

grievances,  was  carried  almost  unanimously  at  a 
crowded  meeting  at  the  Guildhall  on  June  24th ; 1  and, 
a  few  weeks  later,  the  electors  of  Westminster,  going 
still  further,  petitioned  the  king  to  dissolve  a  parliament 
which  had  betrayed  its  trust  by  violating  the  rights 
of  the   freeholders   of   Great  Britain.2     The  example 

1  "  It  is  in  substance,"  wrote  Burke  to  Rockingham,  "  the  same  as  that 
from  Middlesex  ;  but  I  think  it  brings  it  more  home  to  the  king's  ministers, 
not  the  present  only,  but  the  past ;  and  calls  for  redress  in  very  strong  terms. 
.  .  .  On  the  question  for  the  petition  there  was  not  a  single  hand  against  it. 
One  man,  indeed,  attempted  to  make  a  speech  in  opposition  to  it,  but  his 
voice  was  drowned  in  a  cry  to  throw  him  off  the  hustings."  Rockingham 
Memoirs,  2,  96-101. 

2  An  interesting,  though  not  an  impartial,  account  of  the  meeting  which 
approved  the  Westminster  petition  is  given  by  a  correspondent  of  Lord 
Hardwicke.  "  I  attended,"  he  writes,  "  the  meeting  at  Westminster  Hall 
this  morning.  The  company  began  to  assemble  soon  after  ten  o'clock,  and 
kept  increasing  till  twelve,  about  which  time  came  into  the  hall  Sir  Robert 
Bernard,  Dr  Wilson,  Prebendary  of  Westminster,  and  Mr  Jones,  who  has  been 
President  of  the  Bill  of  Rights  Society,  who,  together  with  Humphrey  Cotes, 
were  all  the  people  of  note  that  I  could  learn  of.  They  were  received  into 
the  hall  with  the  shouts  of  between  2  and  3000  people,  to  say  the  most, 
(tho'  those  who  were  fond  of  the  meeting  estimated  them  above  double 
that  number),  and  proceeded  on  to  the  middle  of  the  hall  against  the  court 
of  common  pleas,  where  a  chair  was  placed  upon  a  sort  of  carpenter's  work- 
board,  which  was  filled  by  Sir  Robert  Bernard.  The  company  were  then 
addressed  by  Mr  Jones  who  told  them  the  occasion  of  their  meeting  was  to 
consider  of  a  petition  to  his  majesty  for  redress  of  grievances,  which  petition 
Sir  Robert  Bernard  had  in  his  hand,  and  would  read  to  them  if  agreeable. 
To  which  they  shouted  consent,  and  Sir  Robert  accordingly  read  it,  having 
first  recommended  it  by  a  short  speech  for  that  purpose  ;  and  it  was  received 
with  violent  shouts  of  applause,  both  of  huzzas  and  clapping  of  hands.  The 
petition  was  seconded  by  (some  say)  Mr  Martin,  Sergeant  Glynn's  Attorney, 
but  others  say  it  was  one  Lycett,  an  upholsterer  in  Golden  Square.  The 
subject  of  the  petition  was  the  violation  of  the  privileges  of  the  freeholders 
of  Middlesex,  who,  having  elected  Mr  Wilkes  by  a  very  great  majority,  the 
parliament,  being  corrupted  and  influenced  by  the  ministry,  had  set  him  aside, 
and  declared  Colonel  Luterell  to  be  duly  elected.  They,  therefore,  pray  that 
bis  majesty  would  dissolve  his  parliament,  and  cause  a  new  one  to  be  elected 
as  soon  as  possible.  There  were  several  copies  of  the  petition  drawn  out 
upon  large  sheets  of  parchment,  and  carried  to  different  parts  of  the  hall 
for  all  those  to  sign  who  could  write  their  names,  and  chose  so  to  do  ;  for 
I  found  that  was  all  that  was  required  ;  no  place  of  abode  or  profession  being 
added.  The  majority  of  the  assembly  were  rather  well  dressed,  creditable- 
looking  people,  most  of  which,  I  believe,  were  there,  like  myself,  out  of  curiosity, 
for  that  part  of  the  company  who  seemed  eager  for  signing  were  of  the  shabby 
sort."     Add.  MS.,  35609,  f.  32. 


278     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

of  London  and  Westminster,  moreover,  was  followed 
in  more  distant  parts  of  the  kingdom,  various  counties 
petitioning  for  a  redress  of  grievances.  When  the 
petition  of  the  county  of  Wiltshire  was  presented  for 
approval  to  a  meeting  at  Devizes,  the  clergyman  of 
the  parish  and  the  eldest  son  of  Lord  Holland  were  the 
only  dissentients  ;  *  and  although  we  are  told  that 
the  Worcestershire  petition  was  "  received  but  coldly 
by  the  major  part  of  the  county,"  the  information  comes 
from  a  hostile  and  not  very  well-informed  source.2 
"  The  spirit  of  petitioning,"  wrote  Burke  at  the  end  of 
July,  "  extends  and  strengthens," 3  and  the  best  testi- 
mony to  the  success  of  the  movement  is  afforded  by 
the  strenuous  efforts  of  the  ministerialists  to  check  and 
restrain  it.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  active  intervention 
of  certain  adherents  of  the  government,  it  is  highly 
probable  that  many  more  counties  would  have  pre- 
sented addresses  of  complaint.  It  was  due  to  Rigby 
that  no  petition  came  from  Essex,  and  the  same  service 
was  rendered  to  the  government  in  Norfolk  by  the 
Townshends  and  the  Walpoles,  who  mustered  in  strength 
at  the  Norwich  assizes,  ready  to  oppose  a  petition 
should  one  be  presented.4  The  aged  Duke  of  Bedford, 
though  now  almost  on  the  verge  of  the  grave,  endured 
the  fatigue  of  a  journey  into  Devonshire  in  order  to 
use  his   influence  in   that   county  against  a  petition, 

1  Add.  MS.,  35609,  f.  34- 

2  "  At  this  distance,"  wrote  Charles  Cocks  to  Lord  Hardwicke,  "  I  can  give 
but  a  poor  account  of  the  Worcestershire  petition.  It  was  first  proposed 
by  a  shattered  brain  fellow,  Holland  Cooksey  (who  is  chairman,  to  the  dis- 
grace of  the  county),  at  the  Session.  A  meeting  was  afterwards  advertised  at 
the  Assizes  which,  nothing  being  then  done,  was  adjourned  to  the  race  week ;  it 
was  again  accordingly  proposed  and  signed  by  a  few  gentlemen  (after  being 
corrected  by  Mr  Dowdeswell)  and  by  some  freeholders,  but  I  have  understood, 
from  time  to  time,  that  it  has  been  received  but  coldly  by  the  major  part  of  the 
county."     Add.  MS.  35609,  f.  43. 

3  Burke's  Correspondence,  1,  179-183. 

'•  Hist.  MSS.  Comm.  Lothian  MSS.,  286-287. 


THE  FALL  OF  GRAFTON  279 

and  was  rewarded  for  his  self-sacrifice  by  being  set 
upon  by  the  mob,  both  at  Exeter  and  at  Honiton.1 

Thus,  the  contest  was  transferred  from  the  parlia- 
ment to  the  country  at  large  ;  and  it  is  by  no  means 
easy  to  estimate  the  success  of  Wilkes'  supporters. 
Horace  Walpole,  an  unfavourable  critic  both  of 
Rockingham  and  Grenville,  sneeringly  remarks  in  his 
Memoirs  that  the  opposition  "  had  polled  the  nation, 
and  the  majority  by  far  was  against  them.  Not  a 
dozen  counties,  and  only  a  few  boroughs,  had  petitioned. 
.  .  .  The  greater  part  of  England,  all  Scotland  to  a  man, 
and  Wales,  were  against  them." 2  This  judgment, 
however,  is  somewhat  jaundiced,  and  certainly  cannot 
be  accepted  without  reservation.  It  is  necessary  to 
remember,  not  only  that  the  government  must  often 
have  been  able  to  use  local  influence  to  suppress  the 
real  opinion  of  a  county,  but  that  the  organisation 
for  the  expression  of  public  opinion  was  very  different, 
and  decidedly  inferior,  to  what  is  at  the  present  day  ; 
and  that  the  men,  who  appealed  to  the  country  on 
behalf  of  Wilkes,  suffered  from  the  disabilities  which 
must  always  hamper  the  activities  of  constitutional 
pioneers.  The  mere  fact  that  nearly  twelve  counties 
had  united  in  protesting  against  the  government  was 
in  itself  evidence  of  wide-spread  discontent,  and,  at 
least,  a  favourable  beginning  if  nothing  more  ;  and 
the  opponents  of  the  administration  would  have  been 
little  deserving  of  success  if  they  had  despised  and  dis- 
regarded the  assistance  which  the  people  offered  them. 
They  had,  however,  been  too  well  schooled  by  adversity 
to  fall  into  this  blunder,  and  were  quite  prepared  to 
profit  by  the  favouring  turn  of  circumstance.  Nor 
were  they  unmindful  of  the  necessity  of  healing  their 

1  Cavendish  Debates,  i,  621  ;   Walpole's  Memoirs,  3,  251-252. 

2  Walpole's  Memoirs,  4,  28. 


280    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

internal  dissensions  before  renewing  the  attack  in 
parliament.  Early  in  July,  Edmund  Burke  informed 
Rockingham  that  at  least  an  appearance  of  union 
with  Grenville  was  essential  to  the  safety  of  the  party,1 
and  it  did  not  seem  that  such  an  alliance  was  so  entirely 
outside  the  range  of  practical  politics  as  it  had  hitherto 
appeared.  Temporarily  sinking  old  grievances,  Gren- 
ville and  Rockingham  had  joined  in  defence  of  Wilkes 
and  the  constitution,  and  both  approved  of  the 
policy  of  appealing  to  the  nation,  though  on  this 
point  there  was  far  greater  eagerness  on  the  part  of 
Grenville  than  Rockingham  who,  with  true  aristo- 
cratic prejudice,  only  gave  a  very  reluctant  approval 
to  what  he  disliked  as  a  popular  agitation.2  Both 
working  for  the  same  end,  it  might  be  expected  that  the 
two  leaders,  forgetting  ancient  discord,  would  unite 
in  harmony  ;  but  the  path  of  party  politics  is  no 
smoother  than  that  of  love,  and  the  situation  was 
fundamentally  changed  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye 
by  the  reappearance  of  Chatham  upon  the  political 
scenes. 

Ever  since  his  resignation  in  the  previous  October, 
Chatham  had  been  slowly  but  perceptibly  mending 
in  health,  and  by  the  summer  of  1769  he  had  almost 
completely  shaken  off  that  depression  of  spirit  which 
had  for  so  long  clouded  his  brain,  and  was  once  more 
ready  to  play  a  part  in  public  life.  For  nigh  upon 
two  years  secluded  at  Hayes  and  Hampstead,  he  had 

1  Burke's  Correspondence,  i,  168-172. 

2  Burke's  Correspondence,  1,  173-179.  Grenville  is  far  less  undecided, 
informing  Lord  Buckinghamshire  that  "  if  the  body  of  the  freeholders  are 
dissatisfy'd,  and  think  that  their  rights  .  .  .  are  violated  by  the  late  determina- 
tion in  the  house  of  commons,  they  may  certainly  remonstrate  against  it  in 
the  proper  manner,  and  I  take  it  for  granted  will  do  so.  .  .  .  If  they  do, 
they  will  give  weight  to  the  resistance  which  has  been  made  to  that  measure 
in  the  house  of  commons,  and  prevent  the  like  measure  for  the  future." 
Hist.  MSS.  Comm.  Lothian  MSS.,  287-288. 


THE  FALL  OF  GRAFTON  281 

been,  in  a  measure,  forgotten ;  and  great  was  the 
excitement  when  on  July  7th  he  visited  the  king. 
Politicians,  reminded  of  the  days  when  the  appearance 
of  William  Pitt  at  court  had  generally  intimated  that 
a  ministry  was  tottering  to  its  fall,  circulated  wild 
reports  of  impending  changes ;  but  Charles  Yorke 
spoke  more  truly  when  he  declared  that  Chatham's 
'  visit  at  court  was  a  phenomenon  which  occasioned 
a  good  deal  of  unnecessary  speculation,  being  only  a 
necessary  and  decent  ceremonial  on  the  recovery 
of  his  health."  x  The  arrival  of  Chatham  in  London 
certainly  did  not  mean  the  instant  fall  of  the  Grafton 
ministry,  but,  from  his  discourse  to  the  king,  it  was 
abundantly  clear  that  he  bore  no  goodwill  to  the 
ministers.  Expressing  his  disapproval  of  the  compact 
with  the  East  India  Company,  and  hinting  his  dislike 
of  the  attack  upon  Wilkes,  he  frankly  asked  the 
royal  forgiveness  in  the  event  of  his  being  compelled 
to  go  into  opposition.2  From  the  point  of  view  of 
George  III.,  no  conversation  could  be  less  satisfactory. 
In  former  days  Chatham  had  shown  what  a  dangerous 
enemy  he  could  be  ;  and,  if  he  embarked  upon  a  career 
of  opposition,  supported  by  a  discontented  country, 
it  was  only  too  likely  that  the  ministers  might  be 
intimidated  into  surrender,  and  the  king,  driven  to 
abandon  a  right  for  which  he  had  fought,  be  compelled 
to  take  his  advisers  at  the  dictation  of  his  people. 

Nor  was  it  only  George  III.  who  had  cause  to  fear 
the  consequences  that  might  flow  from  Chatham's 
resumption  of  political  activity :  the  Rockingham 
whigs  had  equally  good  reason  to  be  alarmed.  They 
had  not  forgotten,  and  were  not  likely  to  forget,  that 
their  fall  from  office  in  1766  had  been  largely  due  to 
him,  that  he  had  consistently  rejected  their  friendly 

1  Add.  MS.,  35362,  f.  249.  2  Grafton's  Autobiography,  p.  237. 


282     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

overtures,  and  that,  while  his  health  had  lasted,  he  had 
waged  increasing  war  against  that  party  system  which 
they  believed  to  be  the  mainspring  of  ordered  political 
life.1  They  had  no  reason  to  suppose  that  his  old 
animosity  had  expired  or  even  diminished,  and  could 
not  but  know  that  a  deadly  weapon  of  attack  lay  ready 
to  his  hand.  Chatham  had  appeared  at  the  critical 
moment  when  the  Rockinghams  and  the  Grenvilles 
were  converging  towards  an  alliance  ;  and  it  seemed 
within  his  power  to  blast  the  hope  of  such  an  union 
being  formed.  If  he  still  cherished  his  antagonism 
to  Lord  Rockingham  and  his  followers,  he  might 
easily  frustrate  their  plans  by  throwing  in  his  lot  with 
his  two  brothers-in-law,  Grenville  and  Temple,  thus 
constituting  a  family  party  which  would  be  equally 
opposed  both  to  the  Rockinghams  and  the  ministry. 

Such  was  the  danger  presented  by  the  restoration 
of  Chatham  to  health,  and  it  was  certainly  neither 
remote  nor  fanciful ;  for  the  foundations  upon  which 
the  Grenville  brotherhood  might  be  reconstituted 
had  been  laid  many  weeks  before  the  summer  of  1769. 
As  far  back  as  the  autumn  of  the  previous  year,  Temple 
had  paid  two  visits  to  Hayes  within  the  space  of  a 
fortnight  ;  and,  unusually  privileged,  had  been  per- 
mitted to  see  and  converse  with  Chatham.  Con- 
temporaries at  once  jumped  to  the  conclusion  that  this 
incident  had  a  political  significance,  that  the  differences, 
which  had  separated  between  the  two  kinsmen,  now  no 
longer  existed,  and  that  Chatham,  having  dissociated 
himself  from  the  ministry,  was  now  resolved  upon  an 

1  Burke's  hatred  of  Chatham  was  revealed  in  his  comments  upon  the 
latter' s  audience  with  the  king.  "If  he  was  not  sent  for,"  he  wrote,  "  it 
was  only  humbly  to  lay  a  reprimand  at  the  feet  of  his  most  gracious  master, 
and  to  talk  some  significant,  pompous,  creeping,  explanatory,  ambiguous 
matter,  in  the  true  Chathamic  style,  and  that's  all."  Burke's  Correspondence, 
1,  173-179- 


THE  FALL  OF  GRAFTON  283 

alliance  with  two  of  his  most  bitter  political  enemies.1 
As  generally  happens,  public  opinion,  in  its  lust  for 
excitement,  overshot  the  mark,  and  favoured  a  theory 
which  the  actual  facts  did  not  support.  There  was 
no  evidence  that  politics  were  introduced  into  the 
conversation  at  Hayes,  and,  as  Temple  had  undertaken 
the  first  journey  to  his  brother-in-law  in  response  to 
an  invitation  from  Lady  Chatham,  it  is  reasonable 
to  imagine  that  the  visit  was  more  of  a  friendly  than 
a  political  nature.  Yet,  to  fly  to  the  other  extreme, 
and  to  view  the  reconciliation  which  took  place  as 
exclusively  domestic,  would  be  to  draw  too  hard  and 
fast  a  line  between  the  private  and  public  lives  of 
politicians.  Temple  was  far  too  alert  an  intriguer  not 
to  realise  that,  while  obeying  the  dictates  of  his  heart, 
he  might  yet  be  laying  the  foundation  of  an  invaluable 
parliamentary  alliance  ;  and  his  remark  to  Grenville, 
who,  it  was  rumoured,  was  about  to  visit  Hayes  [though 
apparently  the  J  project  was  never  executed],  "  to  keep 
his  mind  void  of  suspicion,"  is  not  without  significance.2 
It  would  seem  as  though  Temple  realised  that  the  sooner 
a  family  compact  was  signed  the  better  ;  and  that  a 
triumvirate    consisting    of    Chatham,    Grenville,    and 

1  "  I  have  the  joy  to  find,"  wrote  Lord  Temple  in  an  undated  letter  to 
Lady  Chatham,  but  which  from  internal  evidence  appears  to  have  been 
written  shortly  after  his  first  visit  to  Hayes  on  November  25  th,  1768,  "  my 
first  visit  of  Friday  gives  either  universal  satisfaction  or  alarm  ;  the  first 
affords  me  the  most  solid  pleasure,  tho'  the  latter  is  not  without  its  de- 
lights."    Chatham  MSS.,  P.  R.  O.,  1st  series,  vol.  lxiii. 

2  Whether  Grenville  actually  visited  Hayes  at  this  time  is  a  point  in  dispute. 
We  know  that  Temple  went  there  on  November  25  th  and  December  5  th  ; 
and  that  on  November  28th  Lord  Hardwicke  told  Charles  Yorke  that  Gren- 
ville intended  to  visit  Hayes  that  day.  Relying  upon  a  statement  of  the 
Prussian  Ambassador,  Dr  von  Ruville  asserts  that  Grenville  dined  at  Hayes  on 
November  29th  ;  but  this  is,  at  least,  open  to  doubt,  for  in  a  letter  written  in 
July,  1769,  Lord  Hardwicke  states  that  "  Mr  Grenville  was  to  come  over  from 
Wotton,  which  will  have  been  his  first  interview  with  Lord  Chatham  since  the 
last  breach  amongst  them."  Add.  MS.,  35362,  f.  235  ;  Rockingham  Memoirs, 
2,  102-103  ;  Von  Ruvilles'  William  Pitt,  Graf,  von  Chatham,  3,  274  ;  Grenville 
papers,  4,  403,  404,  406. 


284     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

himself,  might  effectively  restore  the  shattered  fortunes 
of  the  country.  In  a  letter  written  to  Lady  Chatham 
during  the  parliamentary  struggle  over  Wilkes,  he 
relates  how  he  has  returned  to  London  "  perfectly  well 
recovered  by  the  salutary  air  of  Hayes,  and  was  at  the 
Horse-Guards  by  thirty-five  minutes  past  one.  I  am 
not,  however,  quite  so  well  this  day  as  yesterday,  but 
am  setting  out  for  the  field  of  battle,  well  replenished 
with  my  dinner.  I  had  a  long  conversation  last  night 
which  ended  most  fraternally  and  amicably,  so  that 
I  have  nothing  left  to  wish  on  that  score."  1  More  direct 
evidence  is  afforded  by  a  letter  written  to  the  same  lady 
on  January  24th,  1769,  in  which  Temple  relates,  with 
obvious  jubilation,  how  he  has  been  assured  "  that  if 
the  king  would  call  for  the  assistance  of  a  certain 
triumvirate,  the  whole  would  stop  in  the  twinkling  of 
an  eye,  and  rage  be  converted  into  joy  and  approbation, 
with  every  testimony  of  it  that  could  be  wished.  This, 
I  believe,  is  not  far  from  the  true  mark." 2 

Scattered  and  fragmentary  as  these  hints  may  appear 
to  be,  they  are,  at  least,  sufficient  to  justify  the  assump- 
tion that,  whatever  was  passing  through  the  mind  of 
Chatham,  Grenville  and  Temple  were  at  least  intent 
upon  securing  his  assistance  ;  and  men  began  to  suspect 
that  something  was  in  the  air.  Thus  by  suspicious 
politicians,  Grenville's  defence  of  Wilkes  was  regarded 
as  a  sop  for  Temple  who  seems  to  have  known  of 
Chatham's   disapproval   of  the   policy   of  expulsion.3 

1  Chatham  MSS.,  P.  R.  O.,  ist  series,  vol.  lxii.  2  Ibid. 

3  The  Wilkes*  Papers  in  the  British  Museum  include  an  undated  letter 
from  Almon  to  Wilkes  which  runs  as  follows  :  "  Last  night  my  Lord  Temple 
read  to  me  a  letter  he  had  just  received  from  Lady  Chatham,  assuring  his 
lordship  that  Lord  Chatham  was  strongly  against  the  measure  of  expelling 
Mr  Wilkes.  These  are  her  ladyship's  words."  A  note  in  another  hand, 
states,  "  This  letter  was  written  a  few  days  previous  to  Mr  Wilkes'  first  ex- 
pulsion, which  happened  on  the  third  day  of  February,  1769."  Add.  MS., 
30870,  f.  107. 


THE  FALL  OF  GRAFTON  285 

"  But,  above  all,"  wrote  a  member  of  parliament  con- 
cerning the  debates  on  Wilkes,  "  it  would  astonish 
me  that  Mr  G.  G.  should  be  one  of  that  minority, 
if  I  did  not  recollect  his  late  reconciliation  and  now 
perfect  intimacy  with  Lord  Temple,"  1  and  the  judg- 
ment, though  in  reality  superficial  enough,  must 
have  been  fairly  widely  accepted,  being  the  easiest 
though  not  the  truest,  explanation  of  the  apparent 
inconsistency  of  a  doctrinaire  statesman.  Nor  were 
men  left  long  in  doubt  as  to  the  degree  with  which 
Chatham  was  prepared  to  identify  himself  with  the 
Grenville  party.  On  July  28th,  Burke  saw  him  pass 
through  Beaconsfield  on  his  way  to  Stowe,  accompanied 
by  his  wife  and  four  children,  and  followed  by  a  train 
of  "  two  coaches  and  six,  with  twenty  servants,  male 
and  female."  2  Thus,  in  true  patriarchal  fashion  did 
Chatham  proceed  on  his  journey,  and  that  the  visit 
had  a  political  significance  is  beyond  all  doubt.  While 
he  sojourned  at  Stowe,  Grenville  came  over  from 
Wotton  expressly  to  pay  his  respects ;  and  the 
compliment  was  returned,  Chatham  visiting  Wotton 
where  he  remained  for  two  or  three  days.  Unfortunately, 
we  know  nothing  of  the  questions  that  were  discussed 
at  these  meetings  ;  but  it  may  be  safely  assumed  that 
politics  were  by  no  means  forbidden.  "  I  made  a 
visit,"  wrote  Hardwicke  to  Charles  Yorke,  "  .  .  .  to 
Stowe.  .  .  .  The  noble  owner  was  very  polite  and 
obliging.  He  expected  Lord  and  Lady  Chatham  as 
yesterday,  and  seemed  pleased  with  the  idea  of  a 
perfect  agreement,  private  and  public,  in  that  family." 3 
Moreover,  we  know  that  Grenville  was  well  enough 
pleased  with  the  union  which  had  been  effected,  in- 

1  Hist.  MSS.  Comm.  Weston  Underwood  MSS.,  412. 

2  Burke's  Correspondence,  pp.  179-183. 

3  Rockingham  Memoirs,  2,  102-103. 


286     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

forming  a  friend  that  "  whatever  effect  it  may  have 
in  the  political  world,  where  it  may  possibly  occasion 
much  speculation,  I  am  persuaded  that  our  friends 
will  be  glad  of  an  event  which  will  contribute  so  much 
to  our  domestic  happiness " ;  *  and  Lord  Lyttelton, 
wishing  Temple  joy  of  "  your  endeavours  for  the 
reunion  of  your  family,  which  is  the  great  step  towards 
the  reunion  of  the  nation,"  advises  the  three  brothers 
"  to  stick  close  to  one  another,  and  then,  if  this  country 
can  be  saved,  your  joint  efforts  will  save  it."  2 

Thus  time,  which  heals  so  many  sores  and  makes  up 
so  many  quarrels,  had  brought  about  a  union  which, 
a  few  years  before,  would  have  seemed  impossible  ; 
and  the  political  situation  was  indeed  fundamentally 
altered  by  what  had  taken  place.  Permitted  a  choice 
between  an  alliance  with  the  Rockinghams  or  the 
Grenvilles,  Chatham  had  deliberately  taken  the  latter 
alternative,  and  the  consequences  might  truly  be 
disastrous  to  the  party  thus  left  out  in  the  cold.  To 
the  more  anxious  of  Rockingham's  followers,  it  must 
have  seemed  that  the  summer  of  hope  had  been  suddenly 
turned  into  the  winter  of  despair  ;  and  that  fortune 
had  idly  tempted  them  by  the  sight  of  a  prize  safely 
placed  beyond  their  reach.  As  early  as  July  9th,  Burke 
had  begun  to  anticipate  with  alarm  "  a  family  system 
which,  in  my  opinion,  precludes  all  possibility  of  a 
good  event  "  3  and  his  fears  must  have  been  rather 
intensified  than  diminished  by  what  had  since 
happened.  If  the  present  was  judged  in  the  light  of 
the  past  it  seemed  only  too  likely  that  Chatham  had 
been  driven  to  choose  the  Grenvilles  by  his  hatred  of 
the  Rockinghams  ;  and  it  was  this  thought  which 
struck  terror  into  the  hearts  of  many,  Burke  somewhat 

1  Hist.  MSS.  Comm.  Lothian  MSS.,  pp.  287-288. 

2  Grenville  Papers,  4,  436.  3  Burke's  Correspondence,  1,  173-179. 


THE  FALL  OF  GRAFTON  287 

bitterly  complaining  to  Rockingham  that  no  informa- 
tion could  be  gained  "  of  the  dispositions  of  Lord 
Chatham,  or  of  what  he  would  have  pass  for  his  dis- 
positions, with  regard  to  your  lordship  and  your  con- 
nexion, and  that  past  experience  had  informed  us  of 
nothing  but  his  enmity  to  your  whole  system  of  men 
and  opinions."  1 

*  Yet,  much  as  Burke  might  dislike  the  man  whom 
he  believed  to  be  responsible  for  the  evil  condition  of 
the  country  and  the  government,  he  was  not  prepared 
openly  to  affront  either  Grenville  or  Temple  because 
of  their  alliance  with  Chatham,  and  was  even  ready 
to  work  with  them  as  long  as  it  was  understood  that 
the  union  was  confined  to  the  question  of  the  Middlesex 
election.  He  took  an  active  part  in  promoting  the 
Buckinghamshire  petition  which  was  approved  by 
Grenville  and  warmly  supported  by  Temple,2  enter- 
tained at  Beaconsfield  Thomas  Whately  who  was  known 
to  enjoy  Grenville's  political  confidence,3  and  was 
largely  instrumental  in  overcoming  Rockingham's 
objections  to  the  practice  of  petitioning,4  thus  con- 
ducting his  leader  into  line,  not  only  with  the  Grenvilles, 
but  also  with  Chatham  who  heartily  approved  this 
method  of  bringing  popular  pressure  to  bear  upon  the 
crown  and  the  ministers.6  But  further  than  that  Burke 
refused  to  go,  fearing  to  purchase  temporary  advantage 
by  the  sacrifice  of  a  principle  ;  and  he  did  what  he  could 

1  Burke's  Correspondence,  i,  194-197. 

» Grenville  Papers,  4,  440-452;  Burke's  Correspondence,  1,  191-194. 
"  Our  petition,"  wrote  Temple  to  Lady  Chatham  in  October,  "  goes  on  here 
to  my  heart's  content.  As  Lord  Shelburne  is  a  great  enemy  to  faction,  he 
would  not  permit  his  name  to  be  used  at  High  Wickham,  nor  his  steward 
to  go  round  the  town  with  the  person  who  carried  it  round,  notwithstanding 
which,  and  a  very  adverse  neighbourhood  of  gentlemen,  thirty-two  out  of 
fifty-four  signed."     Chatham  MSS.  P.  R.  O.,  1st  series,  vol.  lxii. 

3  Grenville  Papers,  4,  440-452  ;    Burke's  Correspondence,  1,  186-191. 

4  Rockingham  Memoirs,  2,  104-106. 
B  Grenville  Papers,  4,  440-452. 


288     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

to  restrain  the  enthusiasm  of  the  more  ardent  members 
of  the  party  who,  alive  to  the  advantages  of  an  united 
opposition,  were  anxious  that  direct  overtures  should 
be  made  to  the  Grenvilles  and  Chatham.  Thus,  when 
early  in  October  Thomas  Townshend  pressed  the 
adoption  of  such  a  policy,  both  Burke  and  Rockingham 
were  emphatic  in  their  opinion  that  it  would  be  de- 
structive to  the  cause  which  they  had  at  heart.1  "  At 
this  minute,"  wrote  Burke,  "  your  lordship  has,  un- 
doubtedly, a  very  delicate  game  to  play,  in  which  you 
cannot  disavow  this  supposed  union  without  giving 
great  advantage  to  the  common  enemy  ;  or  admit 
too  much  of  it,  without  the  risk  of  putting  yourself 
in  the  power  of  your  allies,  on  the  one  hand,  or  giving 
them  a  pretence  to  charge  you  with  breach  of  faith,  on 
the  other  "  ;  and  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  Temple 
also  appears  to  have  been  fully  aware  of  this  doubtful 
attitude  taken  up  by  the  leaders  of  the  Rockingham 
party  ;  and,  which  is  more  surprising,  to  have  been 
fairly  satisfied  with  it.  "  Without  seeming  offended," 
wrote  Burke,  who  had  a  long  conversation  with  him, 
"  the  turn  of  his  discourse  indicated  at  times  that  he 
had  heard  of  your  lordship,  and  your  friends,  expressing 
a  disrelish  to  their  junto,  though  he  did  not  speak  out 
upon  it  so  clearly,  as  to  make  me  quite  satisfied  that  this 
was  his  meaning.  He  said  that  as  we  had  got  to  see 
one  another,  and  to  act  together,  he  hoped  there  would 
be  no  retrospect,  no  charge,  and  no  recrimination. 
That  we  had  done  each  other  a  thousand  acts  of  un- 
kindness  ;  let  us  make  amends  by  a  thousand  acts  of 
friendship.  He  was  of  opinion  that,  let  what  would 
happen,  the  great  point  for  us,  and  the  country,  would 
be  to  get  rid  of  the  present  administration,  which  could 
only   be   effected   by   the   appearance   of   union    and 

1  Burke's  Correspondence,  i,  194-197  ;    207-214. 


THE  FALL  OF  GRAFTON  289 

confidence.  He  said,  and  he  repeated  it,  that,  to  be 
sure,  there  was  no  treaty,  expressed  or  implied,  to  bind 
the  parties  in  honour  to  one  another,  or  to  any  measure, 
except  the  establishment  of  the  rights  of  the  freeholders. 
In  everything  else  we  were  both  free — '  we  were  both 
free  to  play  the  fool  as  much  as  we  pleased,  mark  that.' 
He  said  these  last  words  with  a  good  deal  of  emphasis. 
.  .  .  On  the  whole  I  was  glad  to  find  that  we  under- 
stood one  another  thoroughly,  on  the  nature  and 
extent  of  our  coalition ;  which  once  being  mutually 
explained,  will  not  render  it  necessary  to  say  anything 
upon  it  publicly,  so  as  to  give  an  advantage  against 
us  to  the  common  enemy."  * 

It  is  very  much  open  to  doubt  whether  such  an 
union,  so  narrow  and  contracted  in  its  scope,  and  so 
lacking  in  the  spirit  of  trust  and  friendship,  could  ever 
be  really  effective  as  a  political  force.  January  9th, 
1770,  had  been  fixed  for  the  meeting  of  parliament,  and 
if  in  reality  the  salvation  of  the  country  depended  upon 
the  overthrow  of  the  ministry,  then,  surely,  Chatham, 
the  Grenvilles,  and  Lord  Rockingham  ought  to  have 
agreed  upon  a  comprehensive  programme,  and  pro- 
claimed their  alliance  to  the  world.  That  this  was 
not  done,  that  old  animosities  were  not  completely 
forgotten,  does  not  appear  to  have  been  the  fault  of 
either  Chatham  or  his  brothers-in-law,  the  burden  of 
responsibility  resting  more  upon  Rockingham  and 
Burke.  As  the  session  drew  near,  Chatham,  with 
something  of  his  old  fire,  publicly  announced  his' 
intention  of  denouncing  the  ministers  for  their  foreign, 
their  colonial,  and  their  domestic  policy,  and  expressly 
stated  that  he  would  never  sit  at  the  council  without 
Rockingham  and  his  supporters,  for  "  he,  and  he  alone," 
he  is  reported  as  saying,  "  has  a  knot  of  spotless  friends 

1  Burke's  Correspondence,  i,  207-214. 


290     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

such  as  ought  to  govern  this  kingdom."  *  To  Burke, 
moreover,  Temple  "  expressed  the  most  earnest  desire 
of  the  union  of  all  the  parties,  .  .  .  wished  that  all 
memory  of  past  animosities  might  be  worn  away,  and 
stated  very  strongly,  and,  as  I  have  since  found,  very 
truly,  the  hopes  which  the  court  built  upon  the  sup- 
posed impossibility  of  such  an  union."2  Not  an  over 
effusive  welcome,  however,  was  extended  to  these 
friendly  overtures.  Burke,  unable  to  rid  himself 
of  the  suspicion  which  he  had  contracted  against 
Temple  and  his  brother,  published  abroad  that  his 
party  was  only  united  with  the  Grenvilles  on  the 
question  of  the  Middlesex  election,3  and  Rockingham 
found  it  difficult  to  believe  that  Chatham  had  sincerely 
abandoned  his  crusade  against  the  party  system. 
Early  in  the  new  year,  shortly  before  the  meeting  of 
parliament,  Rockingham  gave  John  Yorke  a  frank 
account  of  the  political  situation.  "  He  had  been 
strongly  pressed,  he  said,"  wrote  Yorke  to  Lord 
Hardwicke,  "  on  coming  to  town  to  admit  the  E.  of 

C m  if  he  called  upon  him,  and  it  was  pretended 

that  his  lordship  wished  it.  He  said  he  was  very 
reluctant,  but  yeilded  (sic)  at  last ;  and  then  asked 
those,  who  pressed  him  so  warmly,  what  they  would 
advise  him  to,  in  case  his  lordship  should  be  suddenly 
taken  with  something  that  should  induce  him  to 
desire  the  visit  should  be  made  to  him,  not  by 
him :  a  fetch  not  unlikely.  To  which  they  answered 
that  he  ought  not  to  go.  In  this  he  readily  con- 
curred, and  since  that  has  never  heard  a  word  of 
it."  4 

1  Rockingham  Memoirs,  2,  141-142  :    143-144. 

2  Burke's  Correspondence,  1,  215-217. 

3  Burke's  Correspondence,  1,  218-221. 

1  Add.  MSS.,  35375,  f.  19.     For  a  garbled  version  of  the  same  incident, 
see  Walpole's  Memoirs,  iv.  22-23. 


THE  FALL  OF  GRAFTON  291 

From  the  tone  of  Rockingham's  discourse,  it  is  quite 
clear  that  he  had  not  yet  fully  forgiven  Chatham  for 
the  past,  and,  as  John  York  shrewdly  remarked, 
"  this  novum  fcedus  is  rather  nullum  fcedus,  and  does 
not  deserve  to  be  celebrated  even  in  a  thatched 
cottage."  x  If  the  old  Duke  of  Newcastle  had  still 
been  alive,  and  permitted  to  exercise  his  influence,  it 
is  not  improbable  that  the  indirect  overtures  of  Chatham 
and  Temple  would  have  met  with  a  more  eager  response  ; 
and  although  Burke  might  rather  contemptuously 
remark,  '  how  much  the  late  Duke  of  Newcastle  hurt 
himself  in  his  interest  very  often,  by  his  itch  of 
negotiation,"  2  it  remained  true  that  the  opposition 
could  hardly  hope  for  victory  without  union  and  a 
proper  understanding.  The  link  of  the  Middlesex 
election  though  useful  enough,  was  by  no  means 
sufficient  to  bind  the  parties  closely  together,  and 
something  more  was  needed  before  a  firm  and  united 
front  could  be  presented  to  the  enemy. 

That  the  administration  was  now  tottering  to  its 
fall,  and  that  Chatham  was  intent  upon  its  destruction, 
there  is  little  doubt.  It  would  take  but  little  to  induce 
Grafton  to  desert  a  cabinet  in  which  he  was  being 
outvoted  and  over-ruled,  and  in  his  autobiography 
he  confesses  that  after  his  defeat  over  the  repeal  of 
the  revenue  act  he  formed  the  resolution,  "  to  withdraw 
myself  from  my  office,  which  was  become  very  un- 
comfortable and  irksome  to  me,  on  the  first  favourable 
opportunity  that  offered  itself." 3  Such  a  deter- 
mination on  his  part  is  more  deserving  of  praise  than 
censure ;  but  Camden  and  Granby  were  guilty  of  more 
dubious  conduct.  The  lord  chancellor,  indeed,  had 
ample  cause  for  discontent,  convinced  as  he  was  that 

1  Add.  MS.,  35375,  f.  19.  2  Burke's  Correspondence,  1,  201-207. 

3  Grafton's  Autobiography,  p.  234. 


292     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

the  expulsion  of  Wilkes  and  the  partial  repeal  of  the 
revenue  act  were  colossal  blunders,  but  it  is  not  easy 
to  forgive  him  for  his  treachery  towards  Grafton 
and  the  king.  Instead  of  finding  an  honourable 
solution  of  his  difficulties  by  resignation,  he  continued 
in  the  cabinet,  and,  at  the  same  time,  actively  intrigued 
with  Chatham  against  the  very  government  of  which 
he  was  a  leading  member.  It  was  not  only  that  he 
abstained  from  attending  the  meetings  of  ministers  : l 
when  appealed  to  by  Grafton  for  an  opinion  upon  the 
legality  of  the  petitions,  he  refrained  from  giving  an 
answer  till  he  had  consulted  with  Chatham  who  took  to 
himself  the  credit  that  "as  to  petitioning,  his  lordship 
was  also  very  explicit  as  to  the  right,  as  well  as  to  the 
illegality  of  all  prosecutions  for  the  exercise  of  it."  2 
Nor  is  this  the  worst  charge  against  him.  He  does 
not  seem  to  have  concealed  his  dislike  of  his  colleagues, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  blazoned  it  abroad ; 3  and,  taking 
advantage  of  Grafton's  good  nature,  agreed  with 
Chatham  to  refrain  from  resignation  for  the  express 
purpose  of  embarrassing  and  weakening  the  govern- 
ment.4 Granby,  moreover,  stands  in  the  same  con- 
demnation,  being  guilty  of  intriguing  with   Camden 

1  Grafton's  Autobiography  p.  234,  pp.  240-241. 

2  Grenville  Papers,  4,  477-479. 

3  "  The  guns  are  now  firing  upon  the  river  for  Lord  Mayor  Beckford," 
wrote  Rigby  to  the  Duke  of  Bedford  on  November  9th.  '.'  He  will  be  attended 
by  no  officer  of  the  state  but  the  lord  chancellor,  who,  I  suppose,  will  be 
hallooed  all  through  the  city  as  a  staunch  friend  of  Wilkes.  The  lord 
chancellor's  conduct,  since  our  conversation  in  Arlington  Street,  has  by 
no  means  justified  the  opinion  we  held  at  that  interview  by  his  situation  ;  he 
is  affectedly  hostile  every  day  to  the  ministry,  and  has  a  pride  in  showing  it. 
I    could   give   your   grace   many   instances    of   it."     Rockingham   Memoirs, 

2,    155- 

4  Notwithstanding  all  report,  the  opinion  at  Hayes  is  that  lord  chan- 
cellor will  not  be  removed  ;  and  he  certainly  will  not  have  the  unpardonable 
weakness  to  resign  in  such  a  crisis.  His  lordship  is  firm,  and  in  the  Tightest 
resolutions."  Chatham's  Correspondence,  3,  388-389.  For  Grafton's  hesita- 
tion, and  the  anxiety  of  the  king  and  the  Bedford  party  to  remove  Camden, 
see  Grafton's  Autobiography,  pp.  245-246. 


THE  FALL  OF  GRAFTON  293 

and  Chatham  to  oppose  the  ministry,  and  to  resign 
at  a  convenient  opportunity.1 

Such  were  the  political  conditions  when  the  new 
session  of  parliament  began  on  January  9th,  1770  ; 
and  all  men,  and  not  least  the  king,  realised  that  the 
fate  of  the  ministry,  and  all  that  it  involved,  was 
hanging  in  the  balance.2  In  the  speech  from  the 
throne  an  allusion  was  made  to  the  cattle  disease 
which  was  prevalent  at  this  time,  a  reference  bitterly 
commented  upon  by  Junius  who  savagely  accused 
Grafton  of  attributing  to  the  king  of  England  '  the 
misery  of  a  ruined  grazier  and  the  whining  piety  of  a 
methodist."  Stress  was  also  laid  upon  the  disturbed 
conditions  of  the  colonies,  the  failure  of  the  measures, 
which  had  been  taken  to  restore  peace,  being  admitted. 
In  the  house  of  lords  the  address  was  moved  by  the 
Duke  of  Ancaster,  but  all  men's  eyes  were  fixed  upon 
Chatham  who  had  travelled  up  from  Hayes  in  order 
to  strike  a  blow  for  England  and  against  the  ministry. 
For  over  three  years  he  had  not  attended  a  debate  ; 
and,  when  last  present,  he  had  been  first  minister  and 
the  defender  of  the  court  against  the  aggression  of 
factions.  He  returned  a  very  different  man,  having 
learnt  much  by  adversity,  but  still  inflamed  by  that 
passionate  love  for  England,  which,  whether  he  served 
king  or  party,  or  stood  alone  in  splendid  isolation, 
never  forsook  him.  When  he  rose  to  speak,  the 
peers  realised  that  they  were  the  privileged  spectators 
of  a  historic  event,  and  that  they  were  about  to  listen, 
not  to  carping  criticism,  but  to  a  declaration  of  policy. 

1  Chatham  MSS.,  P.R.O.,  ist  scries,  vol.  xxv.,  John  Calcraft  to  Chatham, 
22nd  November  1769:  vol.  lxii.,  Lord  Temple  to  Lady  Chatham,  21st 
November  1769  :    Chatham  Correspondence,  3,  388-391. 

2  Thus,  two  days  before  the  session  begun,  George  III.  instructed  Lord 
North  to  make  preparations  for  an  oratorical  display  in  force  by  members 
of  the  ministry  in  the  house  of  commons  on  January  9th.  Correspondence 
of  George  III.  with  Lord  North,  1,  10. 


294    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

He  called  upon  his  hearers  to  consider  the  evils  of  the 
time,  the  universal  discontent  which  prevailed  in  the 
country,  the  isolation  of  England  in  Europe,  and 
the  unhappy  relations  with  the  colonists  who,  though 
they  had  erred,  ought  not  to  be  condemned  unheard, 
and,  as  the  champions  of  freedom,  deserved  a  considera- 
tion which  ordinary  law  breakers  could  not  expect  to 
receive.  "  Liberty,"  he  characteristically  remarked, 
"  was  a  plant  that  deserved  to  be  cherished."  The 
grievances  of  America,  however,  did  not  form  his  main 
9  theme  ;  it  was  upon  the  discontent  at  home  that 
he  laid  the  greatest  stress,  declaring  the  general 
dissatisfaction  to  have  its  root  in  the  expulsion  of 
the  legally  elected  member  for  Middlesex.  "  The 
privileges  of  the  house  of  lords,"  he  observed,  "  how- 
ever transcendent,  however  appropriated  to  them, 
stood  in  the  fact  upon  the  broad  bottom  of  the  people," 
and,  taking  advantage  of  the  licence  allowed  to  the 
orator,  he  called  upon  the  descendants  of  the  barons 
of  Runnymede  to  emulate  their  predecessors,  and  right 
the  wrongs  of  a  distressed  nation.  To  point  the  way 
in  this  work  of  regeneration,  he  moved,  as  an  amend- 
ment to  the  address,  that,  "  we  will,  with  all  convenient 
speed,  take  into  our  most  serious  consideration,  the 
causes  of  the  discontents  which  prevail  in  so  many 
parts  of  your  majesty's  dominions,  and  particularly 
the  late  proceedings  in  the  house  of  commons,  touching 
the  incapacity  of  John  Wilkes,  Esq.,  expelled  by  that 
house,  to  be  elected  a  member  to  serve  in  this  present 
parliament,  thereby  refusing,  by  a  resolution  of  one 
branch  of  the  legislature  only,  to  the  subject  his  common 
right,  and  depriving  the  electors  of  Middlesex  of  their 
free  choice  of  a  representative." 

Such  an  amendment  could  hardly  have  been  ex- 
pected to  be  carried,  being,  in  fact,  an  indictment  of 


THE  FALL  OF  GRAFTON  295 

the  ministry,  but  it  amply  fulfilled  its  purpose  of  bring- 
ing into  the  foreground  of  the  discussion  the  one  sub- 
ject upon  which  the  opposition  was  in  agreement.  Of 
even  greater  moment,  however,  was  the  opportunity 
afforded  to  Camden  of  expressing  the  discontent  he 
had  long  felt,  and  there  could  have  been  little  surprise 
when  he  declared  that  he  was  most  strongly  opposed 
to  the  expulsion  of  Wilkes,  and  had  never  approved 
it.  In  the  house  of  commons  an  amendment,  similar 
to  that  moved  by  Chatham  in  the  upper  house,  was 
brought  forward  by  Dowdeswell ;  and,  though  in- 
curring the  same  fate  of  rejection,  was  supported  by  a 
minority  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight  members, 
which  included  not  only  Grenville  and  the  followers 
of  Rockingham,  but  also  Lord  Granby  who  announced 
that  he  repented  of  having  voted  for  the  expulsion 
of  Wilkes,  and  Dunning,  the  solicitor-general,  who 
defended  the  legality  of  petitions.1 

The  opponents  of  the  government  had  no  cause  to 
feel  ashamed  of  the  part  they  had  played  on  the  first 
day  of  the  session,  even  though  in  both  houses  their 
amendments  had  not  been  carried.  Indeed,  they 
had  ample  reason  for  jubilation,  two  cabinet  ministers 
and  a  law  officer  of  the  crown  having  declared  in  their 
favour,  and  it  was  the  ministry  rather  than  the  opposi- 
tion that  had  suffered  in  the  first  encounter.  Its 
prestige,  already  diminished  to  almost  vanishing  point, 
had  incurred  a  serious  blow  ;  and,  if  it  was  to  continue 
to  survive,  it  must  at  least  show  that  it  was  still  able 
to  punish  disobedience.  The  lord  chancellor  had  long 
been  marked  down  for  slaughter,  and  he  had  sealed 
his  doom  by  his  frankness  in  debate.  No  sooner  were 
the  words  out  of  his  mouth  than  Temple  was  prophesy- 

1  For  the  debates  in  the   two   houses,  see  Cavendish  Debates,   i.    434   ff. 
Walpole's  Memoirs,  4,  23-25.     Pari.  Hist.,  xvi.  644  ff.  ;   668  ff. 


296     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

ing  that  he  would  be  speedily  dismissed  for  daring  to 
stand  up  in  defence  of  English  freedom;  and,  before 
leaving  the  house,  Camden  himself  privately  told 
Grafton  that  he  was  quite  aware  that  he  would  be 
deprived  of  his  office  for  what  he  had  done,  but  that  he 
did  not  intend  to  facilitate  the  task  of  the  government 
by  resignation.1  The  forecast  was  correct,  no  time 
being  lost  by  the  court  in  beginning  the  search  for  a  new 
occupant  of  the  woolsack,  and  truly  there  was  no  time 
to  lose.  The  moment  was  critical,  and  great  was  the 
need  for  urgent  action.  The  enemy  was  clamouring 
at  the  gates,  the  country  had  been  aroused  from  its 
political  lethargy,  the  administration  seemed  to  be 
breaking  into  pieces  ;  and  it  might  well  happen  that 
the  opposition  would  be  left  in  victorious  possession 
of  the  field. 

At  such  crises  George  III.  was  wont  to  display  a 
capacity  for  rapid  action,  a  courage  and  resolution, 
which  account  in  no  small  degree  for  his  success  as 
a  political  commander.  If  not  "  pleased  with  the 
tempest  when  the  waves  ran  high"  he  was,  at  least, 
able  to  rise  to  a  sudden  emergency  ;  and  it  was  when 
he  was  most  hard  pressed  that  he  revealed,  if  not  the 
arts  of  a  great  statesman,  at  least  the  cunning  of  a 
successful  politician.  Nor  was  he  found  wanting 
on  this  occasion.  In  consultation  with  Grafton,  it 
was  agreed  that  the  great  seal  should  be  offered  to 
Charles  Yorke ;  and  the  decision  was  in  no  sense  the  last 
despairing  and  almost  haphazard  throw  of  the  ruined 
political  gambler.  On  the  contrary,  it  was  a  deliberate 
and  carefully  thought  out  study  in  temptation,  an 
attempt  on  the  king's  part  to  turn  human  weakness 
and  frailty  to  his  own  advantage. 

The  life  of  Charles  Yorke  had  been  saddened  and 

1  Pari.  Hist.,  xvi.  644  ff.  ;    Grafton's  Autobiography,  pp.  245-246. 


THE  FALL  OF  GRAFTON  297 

embittered  by  a  great  ambition  never  satisfied.  Of 
great  eminence  in  the  legal  profession,  of  which  his 
father  had  been  so  distinguished  an  ornament,  he  had 
set  his  heart  upon  becoming  lord  chancellor,  and, 
frustrated  in  this  hope,  failed  to  find  satisfaction  in 
success  which  would  have  been  more  than  sufficient 
for  most  members  of  the  bar.  It  meant  little  to  him 
that  he  had  been  attorney-general,  for  he  had  only 
regarded  that  office  as  a  stepping  stone  to  one  still 
higher  ;  but  fortune  had  always  crossed  his  path  just 
as  he  was  on  the  point  of  attaining  his  goal.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  reign  of  George  III.  it  seemed  that  he 
had  only  to  wait  for  the  prize  to  fall  into  his  grasp. 
The  whig  party,  of  which  his  father  was  one  of  the 
leaders,  was  still  supreme,  and  seemed  likely  to  continue 
so,  and  Yorke,  marked  out  for  promotion  by  his 
birth,  his  political  opinions,  and  his  legal  skill,  could 
legitimately  anticipate  that  in  a  few  years  he  would 
be  sitting  where  his  father  had  sat.  This  pleasing 
prospect,  however,  was  soon  over-clouded.  The  whigs, 
ejected  from  office,  were  driven  into  opposition  to  the 
king  ;  and  Yorke  had  to  make  his  choice  between  the 
court  and  his  friends.  After  much  hesitation,  and  with 
infinite  sorrow  and  regret,  he  threw  in  his  lot  with  the 
whig  opposition,  resigning  the  office  of  attorney-general 
in  the  autumn  of  1763.  By  thus  alienating  the  king, 
he  seemed  to  have  blasted  all  his  hopes  of  promotion  ; 
and  it  was  not  long  before  he  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  it  was  vain  to  struggle  against  the  power  of  the 
crown,  and  that  obedience  was  wiser  than  rebellion. 
After  a  twelvemonths'  experience  of  opposition  he  made 
his  peace  with  the  court,  taking  no  office,  but  accepting 
a  patent  of  precedency  which  gave  him  rank  between 
the  attorney  and  solicitor-general.  Thus,  blowing 
neither  hot  nor  cold,  it  is  probable  that  he  was  little 


298     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

trusted  by  either  party,  and  it  is  certain  that  he  was 
treated  but  indifferently  by  both.  When  the 
Rockingham  ministry  was  formed  in  the  summer  of 
1765,  Yorke  had  to  content  himself  with  his  old  office 
of  attorney-general,  Northington  being  retained  as 
lord  chancellor  in  order  to  gratify  the  king  ;  and  when, 
a  year  later,  Rockingham  fell  before  Chatham,  Lord 
Camden  became  chancellor,  and  Yorke,  disgusted  by 
such  treatment,  threw  up  his  office  of  attorney-general. 
That  Yorke  had  very  real  cause  for  discontent,  and 
a  legitimate  grievance  against  the  Rockingham  whigs 
and  the  king,  cannot  be  denied.  He  might  well  feel 
aggrieved  that  Rockingham,  when  he  had  the  oppor- 
tunity, had  not  placed  him  upon  the  woolsack  ;  and, 
though  he  had  consented  to  return  to  his  old  office 
of  attorney-general  when  assured  by  George  III.  that 
he  should  be  lord  chancellor  within  a  year,  that  pledge 
had  not  been  fulfilled.  It  is  not  surprising,  therefore, 
that,  after  the  construction  of  Chatham's  ministry, 
Yorke,  though  continuing  to  be  nominally  a  member 
of  the  Rockingham  party,  was  disposed  to  play  an 
independent  part  in  politics,  and  to  think  little  of  the 
interests  of  a  faction  which  had  thought  so  little  of  his 
own.  Indeed,  he  often  inclined  to  direct  disagreement 
with  the  men  who  were  commonly  reported  to  be  his 
close  political  associates  ;  and  although  he  took  an 
active  part  in  the  defence  of  the  East  India  company, 
and  supported  the  nullum  tempus  bill,  he  believed 
that  the  administration  had  acted  wisely  in  expelling 
Wilkes,  was  of  the  opinion  that  the  house  of  commons 
could  disqualify  for  election  to  parliament,  and  was 
opposed  to  the  policy,  pursued  by  his  friends,  of  encour- 
aging the  counties  and  boroughs  to  petition  the  court. 
At  so  great  a  variance  did  he  feel  with  his  supposed 
allies   that    he    sometimes   purposely   abstained    from 


THE  FALL  OF  GRAFTON  299 

attending  the  house  of  commons.  "  When  the  question 
arose/'  wrote  Lord  Hardwicke,  "  towards  the  close 
of  the  session,  about  the  power  of  the  house  of  commons 
to  disqualify,  he  would  never  give  his  opinion  upon  it 
in  public,  though,  to  a  few  friends  in  private,  if  he  was 
asked,  he  declared  himself  strongly  for  the  power. 
After  the  house  of  commons  had  voted  in  Colonel 
Luthel  (sic)  the  question  of  right  was  taken  up  again 
in  a  petition  of  some  Middlesex  electors,  and,  as  I 
foresaw  it  was  likely  to  become  a  very  serious  matter, 
I  pressed  him  most  warmly  one  morning  ...  to  go 
down  to  the  house,  and  give  his  full  opinion  in  the 
cause."  *• 

In  spite  of  his  brother's  advice,  however,  Yorke 
refused  to  reveal  himself,  and  it  would  have  been  well 
if  he  had  foresworn  political  ambition  altogether. 
But  that  was  a  renunciation  beyond  his  power  to 
achieve.  The  prize  of  the  lord  chancellorship  still 
dangled  before  his  eyes,  and  hope  was  not  yet  dead. 
It  soon  became  known  that  Camden  was  discontented 
with  his  situation,  opposed  in  opinion  to  the  court, 
and  on  the  point  of  either  resignation  or  expulsion  ; 
and,  in  the  spring  or  summer  of  1769,  Yorke  had  been 
warned  that  he  might  be  called  upon  in  the  immediate 
future  to  take  his  place  upon  the  woolsack.  He  failed 
to  greet  the  prospect  with  the  rapture  which  might 
have  been  expected,  being  the  victim  of  conflicting 
impulses.  Though  he  had  always  hoped  to  attain  to 
the  great  position  which  his  father  had  held,  and  was 
not  called  upon  to  be  over-mindful  of  the  feelings  of 
Lord  Rockingham  and  his  followers,  there  were 
considerations  sufficiently  weighty  to  cause  him  to 
hesitate,  and  to  doubt  whether,  after  all,  as  a  man 
of  honour  he  could  afford  to  satisfy  the  ambition  of  his 

1  Add.  MS. ,"35428,  f.  1. 


300     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

lifetime.  He  had  never  explained,  either  to  Rockingham 
or  the  world,  what  little  sympathy  he  had  with  the 
party  to  which  he  was  supposed  to  belong  '  *  and,  if 
he  accepted  a  place  in  the  Grafton  ministry,  his  action 
would  be  interpreted  by  the  good  as  a  sacrifice  of 
honour  to  personal  advantage,  and  by  the  bad  as  the 
triumph  of  policy  over  prejudice.2  Moreover,  he 
naturally  shrank  from  linking  his  fortunes  with  a 
government  so  justly  decried,  and  with  whose  policy 
on  many  questions  he  was  entirely  out  of  sympathy  ; 
and,  cursed  with  an  over-sensitive  nature,  he  feared 
the  reproaches  of  his  many  friends  in  the  Rockingham 
camp.  They  would  not  be  likely  to  mince  their  words 
with  the  man  who,  while  they  were  seeking  to  destroy 
the  ministry,  frustrated  their  expectations  by  stepping 
into  the  breach  left  by  the  fall  of  Camden  ;  and  it  was 
most  improbable  that  they  would  lend  an  attentive 
or  sympathetic  ear  to  explanations  of  a  course  of  con- 
duct so  detrimental  to  their  interests.  Convinced 
that  Yorke  was,  at  heart,  one  of  themselves,  they  would 
regard  him  on  the  woolsack  with  abhorrence  and 
detestation  ;  and,  if  he  elected  to  satisfy  his  ambition, 
he  would  be  compelled  to  suffer  the  contempt  of  many 
close  and  intimate  friends,  whose  former  affection  would 
only  serve  to  intensify  their  hatred.3 

1  "  As  well  as  I  can  recollect,"  wrote  Lord  Hardwicke,  "  Mr  John  Yorke 
and  myself  were  clear  .  .  .  that  he  ought  long  ago  to  have  explained  himself 
to  Lord  Rockingham,  that  the  world  might  not  have  run  away  with  the  idea 
that  he  particularly  belonged  to  that  connection."     Add.  MS.,  35428,  f.  1. 

2  On  January  9th,  in  the  house  of  lords,  Lord  Shelburne  had  expressed 
the  hope  that  "  there  would  not  be  found  in  the  kingdom  a  wretch  so  base  and 
mean-spirited,  as  to  accept  of  them  (the  seals)  on  the  conditions  on  which 
they  must  be  offered."     Pari.  Hist.,  vol.  xvi.  pp.  644  ff. 

3  Thus  between  Rockingham  and  Charles  Yorke  existed  a  close  friendship  ; 
and  there  is  no  reason  to  believe  Mrs  Yorke' s  assertion  that  this  was  insincere 
on  Rockingham's  part.  "  It  was  a  fortunate  thing,"  she  wrote,  "  for  a  man 
of  so  middling  a  capacity  as  his  lordship  to  have  a  director  and  adviser  like 
Mr  Yorke,  to  whom  he  could  apply  every  moment,  and  without  whom  he 


THE  FALL  OF  GRAFTON  301 

Thus,  torn  by  opposing  considerations,  and  of  a 
high-strung  temperament,  Yorke  dreaded  what  the 
future  would  bring  forth,  and,  in  a  measure,  must  have 
prayed  that  he  might  never  be  called  upon  to  make 
so  critical  a  decision.  Like  many  another  man  before 
and  since,  he  found  it  difficult  to  know  where  the  path 
of  duty  lay,  and,  as  it  gradually  became  clearer  and 
clearer  that  Camden  could  not  long  continue  in  the 
cabinet,  he  sought  advice  from  his  brothers,  Lord 
Hardwicke  and  John  Yorke,  and  received  divided 
counsel.  While  his  elder  brother  was  in  favour  of 
Charles  accepting  the  offer  of  chancellorship,  should 
the  court  make  it,  the  younger  was  of  a  contrary 
opinion  ;  and  thus  he  failed  to  get  a  clear  lead  when  he 
most  urgently  needed  one.1  At  the  beginning  of  the 
year,  1770,  he  was  as  irresolute  as  ever  ;  and  it  was  when 
he  was  in  this  mental  condition  that  he  received,  at  his 
Highgate  residence  on  Friday,  January  12th,  a  letter 
from  the  Duke  of  Grafton,  asking  for  an  interview.2 

Though  Grafton  only  asked  him  to  call,  saying 
nothing  about  the  purpose  of  the  meeting,  Yorke  was 
quite  aware  that  the  much  dreaded  summons  had 
come  : 3  and  he  was  hardly  in  a  fit  state  to  meet  it.  The 
anxiety  of  the  last  few  months,  the  state  of  continuous 
and  harassing  doubt,  had  begun  to  prey  upon  his  mind 
and  affect  his  health  ;  and  he  had  only  just  returned 
from  his  country  residence  in  Hertfordshire  where  he 
had  been  confined  by  illness.4     The  business  of  courts, 

would  have  made  no  figure  at  all  in  his  administration  ;    it  was  also  useful 
to  have  a  friend  whose  purse  could  so  frequently  supply  the  wants  which  his 
extravagance  continually  brought  on  him."     Add.  MS.,  35428,  f.  132. 
1  Add.  MS.,  35428,  f.  1.  2  Add.  MS.,  35428,  f.  124,  f.  128. 

3  Add.  MS.,  35428,  f.  132. 

4  "  I  have  been  confined  by  a  violent  cold  and  illness,"  he  wrote  to  Grafton 
on  January  12th,  "  at  my  house  in  Hertfordshire  for  some  days,  and  did  not 
reach  Highgate  till  yesterday  afternoon."  Add.  MS.,  35428,  f.  128  (rough 
draft). 


302     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

however,  cannot  be  delayed  in  the  interests  of  the 
health  of  private  individuals,  and  Yorke  rallied  his 
strength  to  embark  upon  the  negotiation  in  which  he 
was  to  meet  his  death.  Arranging  to  wait  upon 
Grafton  on  the  evening  of  Friday,  January  12th,  he 
took  his  wife  and  his  two  brothers  into  his  confidence, 
discussing  with  them  the  line  of  conduct  he  ought  to 
pursue.  From  the  tone  of  his  remarks  Mrs  Yorke 
gathered  the  impression  that  he  would  probably 
refuse  Grafton's  offer ; 1  but,  unfortunately,  we  do  not 
know  definitely  what  advice  was  tendered  by  his  two 
brothers  on  this  occasion.  Probably,  they  suggested 
that,  at  his  first  conference  with  Grafton,  he  should 
avoid  committing  himself  finally  in  either  direction, 
and  thus  gain  time  in  which  to  ascertain  the  opinions 
of  his  friends.  Such,  at  least,  was  the  policy  adopted 
by  Yorke  at  his  meeting  with  the  prime  minister  on 
January  12th.  "  He  received  the  offer  of  the  great 
seal,"  wrote  Grafton  in  his  autobiography,  "  with  much 
gratitude  to  his  majesty,  but  hoped  that  he  should  be 
allowed  to  return  his  answer  when  he  should  have 
given  it  a  day's  consideration.  Mr  Charles  Yorke 
remained  with  me  between  two  and  three  hours, 
dwelling  much  on  the  whole  of  his  own  political  thoughts 
and  conduct,  together  with  a  comment  on  the  principal 
public  occurrences  of  the  present  reign.  When  he  came 
to  make  remarks  on  the  actual  state  of  things,  after 
speaking  with  much  regard  of  many  in  administration, 
he  said  that  it  was  essential  to  him  to.be  informed  from 
me  whether  I  was  open  to  a  negotiation  for  extending 
the  administration,  so  as  to  comprehend  those  with 
whom  I  had  formerly,  and  he  constantly  wished  to 
agree.  My  answer  was  that  he  could  not  desire  more 
earnestly  than  myself  to  see  an  administration  as  com- 

1  Add.  MS.,  35428,  f.  132. 


THE  FALL  OF  GRAFTON  303 

prehensive  as  possible,  and  that  this  object  could  only 
be  brought  about  by  the  re-union  of  the  whigs,  adding 
that  I  should  be  happy  to  have  his  assistance  to  effect 
it.  Mr  Yorke  appeared  to  be  pleased  with  this  answer, 
and,  after  many  civilities  on  both  sides,  we  parted.1 

Yorke  had  been  given  until  the  morning  of  Sunday, 
January  14th,  to  come  to  a  final  decision  ;  and  the  time 
was  not  over-long.     The  problem,  moreover,  was  as 
insoluble  as  ever,  for  the  meeting  with  Grafton  could 
hardly  have  had  the  effect  of  dissipating  the  doubts 
which  clouded  the  prospective  lord  chancellor's  brain. 
In  reply  to  the  suggestion  that  the  Rockingham  whigs 
should  be  introduced  into  the  ministry,  Grafton  had 
returned  an  evasive  answer  of  little  or  no  meaning, 
but  which  might  fairly  be  interpreted  as  conveying 
that  the  offer  was  to  Yorke,  and  to  him  alone.     Few 
men  have  ever  been  subjected  to  a  severer  trial,  and  it 
is  at  least  to  his  credit  that  he  sought  to  obtain  a 
clearer   conception   of   his   duty   by   ascertaining   the 
opinions  of  his  friends.     By  Rockingham,  with  whom 
he  had  a  meeting  on  the  evening  of  Saturday,  January 
13th  2  he  was  told  to  decline  the  offer  of  the  court  ; 
and  from  that  quarter  such  advice  might  have  been 
expected.       Little     as     the     marquis     might     esteem 
Chatham,  he  was  certainly  not  entirely  blind  to  his 
value  as  a  political  ally,  and  he  could  not  but  know 
that    the    great    statesman    would    be    most    bitterly 
offended  if  a  member  of  the  Rockingham  party  suc- 
ceeded Camden  as  lord  chancellor.     Indeed,  no  event 
could  well  be  more  unfortunate  for  the  success  of  the 
opposition    in    the    parliamentary    struggle,    and    one 
may  well  believe  that  Rockingham  used  strong  words 
of  dissuasion.3     John  Yorke,  as  he  had  always  been, 

1  Grafton's  Autobiography,  pp.  247-249  ;   Add.  MS.,  35428,  f.  116. 

2  Rockingham  Memoirs,  2,  159-160.  3  Add.  MS.,  35428,  f.  132. 


304     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

was  of  the  same  mind  as  the  whig  leader  ;  while  Lord 
Mansfield,  upon  whom  Yorke  waited  at  his  Hamp- 
stead  residence,  was  of  the  opinion  that  it  was  his  duty, 
as  well  as  his  interest,  to  come  to  the  assistance  of  the 
court,  and  accept  a  gift  which  would  hardly  be  offered 
again.1  It  is  more  difficult  to  be  certain  of  the  views 
expressed  by  lord  Hardwicke,  for,  like  Charles  himself, 
he  was  the  victim  of  conflicting  impulses.  Family 
pride  and  fraternal  affection  led  him  to  wish  that  his 
brother's  ambition  should  find  satisfaction  ;  but,  on 
the  other  hand,  he  feared  the  comments  of  Lord 
Rockingham  and  his  friends.  It  was  quite  possible 
that,  even  if  Yorke  stepped  into  Camden's  place,  the 
ministry  might  still  fall  and  the  opposition  triumph  ; 
and  Hardwicke  not  unnaturally  felt  that,  if  this  came 
to  pass,  the  last  state  of  his  house  would  be  worse  than 
the  first,  for  mortal  offence  would  have  been  given  to 
the  whigs,  and  Charles  would  have  only  taken  his  seat 
on  the  woolsack  in  order  to  vacate  it.  Thus,  it  is  not 
surprising  that  he  had  some  difficulty  in  making  up 
his  mind,  and  changed  his  opinion  within  twenty 
four  hours  2  ;   but  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  his  own 

1  Add  MS.,  35428,  f.  132. 

2  The  following  is  Mrs  Yorke's  account  of  Hardwicke's  conduct  at  this 
time,  but  it  ought  to  be  remembered  that  she  was  hostile  to  him  : — "  Lord 
Hardwicke  was  of  a  contrary  opinion,  as  will  appear  by  what  follows.  Lady 
Grey  came  to  me  on  the  Saturday  morning.  She  began  very  soon  to  talk 
on  this  subject.  I  told  her  Ladyship  that  my  mind  was  perfectly  easy,  for 
I  had  but  one  opinion,  which  was  that  Mr  Yorke  should  not  accept,  for  the 
reasons  above  mentioned,  and  that  I  believed  such  were  Mr  Yorke's  own 
thoughts  and  determination.  She  replied  that  it  was  true,  and  that  there  was 
much  to  be  said  against  it  ;  but  she  thought  the  reasons  that  might  be  urged 
for  accepting  were  much  stronger  than  the  objections.  .  .  .  She  ended,  how- 
ever, by  saying  that  these  were  Lord  Hardwicke's  sentiments  as  well  as  her 
own.  I  was  very  much  struck  by  what  she  said,  especially  of  Lord  Hard- 
wicke, and  told  her  Ladyship  I  thought  my  Lord  was  of  a  very  different 
opinion,  and  had  advised  Mr  Yorke  to  the  contrary  the  night  before  ;  at  least 
I  understood  so  from  what  Mr  Yorke  told  me  :  indeed,  replied  Lady  Grey, 
Mr  Yorke  must  have  misunderstood  my  lord  very  much  if  he  thought  so." 
Add.  MS.,  35428,  f.  132. 


THE  FALL  OF  GRAFTON  305 

statement  that  when  Yorke  visited  him  on  the  Sunday 
morning,  before  going  on  to  Grafton,  he  agreed  with  him 
that  the  right  thing  to  do  was  to  decline.  "  He  (Mr  Y.) 
called  upon  me  that  morning  (the  14th),"  he  wrote, 
"  and  seemed  in  great  perplexity  and  agitation.  I 
asked  him  if  he  saw  his  way  through  the  clamorous 
and  difficult  points  upon  which  it  would  be  immediately 
expected  he  should  give  his  opinion,  viz.,  the  Middlesex 
election,  America,  and  the  state  of  Ireland  where  the 
parliament  had  just  been  prorogued  on  a  popular  point. 
He  seriously  declared  he  did  not,  and  that  he  might  be 
called  upon  to  advise  measures  of  a  higher  and  more 
dangerous  nature  than  he  should  chuse  to  be  re- 
sponsible for.  He  was  clearly  of  opinion  that  he  was 
not  sent  for  at  this  present  juncture  from  predilection 
but  necessity  ;  and  how  much  soever  the  great  seal 
had  justly  been  the  object  of  his  ambition,  he  was 
now  afraid  of  accepting  it.  Seeing  him  in  so  low  and 
fluttered  a  state  of  spirits,  and  knowing  how  much 
the  times  called  for  a  higher,  I  did  not  venture  to 
push  him  on,  and  gave  into  the  idea,  he  himself  started, 
of  advising  to  put  the  great  seal  in  commission,  by 
which  time  would  be  gained."  x 

Thus  Yorke  reached  a  determination,  and  it  would 
have  been  well  for  him  if  it  had  been  final.  Taking 
the  advice  of  his  brothers,  Lord  Rockingham,  and  his 
wife,  he  declined  the  great  seal  in  his  interview  with 
Grafton  on  the  Sunday  morning,  and  so  strongly  did 
he  express  his  resolution  of  not  joining  the  administra- 
tion that  the  duke  did  not  attempt  to  press  him,  con- 
tenting himself  with  asking  him  to  wait  upon  the  king 
before  coming  to  a  completely  final  resolution,  a  request 
with  which  Yorke  undertook  to  comply.2     The  inter- 

1  Add.  MS.,  35428,  f.  116. 

2  Add.  MS.,  35428,  f.  1 16  ;  Grafton's  Autobiography,  pp.  247-249.     Grafton 

U 


306     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

view  then  ended,  but,  unfortunately,  Yorke  was  unable 
to  dismiss  the  matter  from  his  mind.  He  had  promised 
to  see  the  king,  and,  still  a  prey  to  uncertainty  and 
doubt,  he  fell  to  brooding  over  what  he  had  done. 
He  began  to  wonder  whether  he  had  missed  a 
great  opportunity,  and  inflicted  upon  himself  all  the 
tortures  of  morbid  introspection.  Unable  to  rest,  he 
still  sought  advice,  being  told  by  Lord  Chief  Justice 
Wilmot,  and  by  Lord  Mansfield  again,  to  accept  the 
promotion  offered  by  the  court.  His  mental  agitation 
revealed  itself  in  a  loss  of  sleep  and  appetite,  symptoms 
which  had  the  unfortunate  effect  of  causing  his  wife 
to  change  her  mind.  Thinking  that  her  husband 
would  be  happier  if  he  received  what  he  had  so  eagerly 
coveted  for  so  long,  and  influenced  by  the  opinion 
of  her  friends,  she  now  pressed  the  wretched  man  to 
accept ; 1  and  her  well-meant  but  ill-advised  suggestions 
could  only  have  had  the  effect  of  increasing  his  suspense 
and  misery.  He  was  now  no  more  certain  of  what  he 
ought  to  do  than  he  had  been  when  he  opened  Grafton's 
letter  of  summons.  Meeting  him  on  the  morning  of 
Monday,  January  16th,  Hardwicke  found  him  resolved 
to  adhere  to  his  refusal  ;  but  in  twenty-four  hours 
he  veered  about,  and  on  the  morning  of  Tuesday  was 
agitatedly  talking  about  accepting.2 

The  audience  with  the  king  had  been  fixed  for 
Tuesday  evening  ;  and  by  that  time  Yorke  had  again 
changed  his  mind,  being  now  resolved  to  refuse.  The 
accounts  of  the  interview  at  court  vary,  but,  in  the  midst 
of  much  that  is  in  doubt,  it  is  at  least  certain  that  Yorke 
formally  declined  the  offer  made  to  him.3     On  leaving 

states  that  it  was  Yorke  who  asked  to  wait  upon  the  king,  but  this  is  con- 
tradicted in  Lord  Hardwicke's  account,  and,  on  the  face  of  it,  seem  rather 
unlikely. 

1  Add.  MS.,  35428,  f.  132.  2  Add.  MS.,  35428,  f.  116. 

3  Lord  Hardwicke  and  Mrs  Yorke  give  conflicting  accounts  of  the  king's 


THE  FALL  OF  GRAFTON  307 

the  palace,  he  called  upon  Hardwicke  and  Rockingham, 
to  inform  them  of  what  he  had  done,  and  authorised 
Hardwicke  to  publish  the  news  to  the  world.1  Having 
transacted  this  business,  he  returned  home,  only  to 
have  a  restless  and  disturbed  night.  When  he  rose 
on  Wednesday  morning,  he  looked  worn  and  ill ;  but, 
instead  of  taking  his  wife's  advice  to  leave  town  at 
once  for  the  country,  insisted  upon  attending  the 
levee  which  was  to  be  held  that  day.  "  He  said," 
in  Mrs  Yorke's  words,  '  that  it  was  proper  that  he 
should  make  his  bow  to  the  king."  2 

That  obeisance  was  indeed  to  have  a  fatal  conse- 
quence, and  one  would  give  much  to  know  the  secret  of 
Yorke's  determination  to  attend  the  levee.  It  may  well 
be  that  the  king  had  refused  to  take  a  final  answer  on 
the  Tuesday  evening,  and  that  it  was  in  obedience  to 
a  royal  command  that  Yorke  went  to  court  on  the 
Wednesday  morning3;  but,  whatever  was  his  motive 
for  going,  he  went  to  his  doom.  The  king,  aware  that 
Granby  had  either  resigned,  or  was  immediately  about 
to  resign,  the  office  of  master  of  the  ordnance,4  deter- 

conversation  at  this  meeting.  According  to  the  former  "  the  king  had  not 
pressed  him  (Charles  Yorke)  so  strongly  as  he  expected,  that  he  had  not  held 
forth  much  prospect  of  stability  in  administration,  and  that  he  had  not  talked 
so  well  to  him  as  he  did  when  he  accepted  the  office  of  attorney-general  in 
1765.  His  majesty  ended  the  conversation  very  humanely  and  prettily,  that 
after  what  he  had  said  to  excuse  himself  it  would  be  cruelty  to  press  his 
acceptance."  Mrs  Yorke  in  her  account  states,  "  I  gathered  from  what  he 
did  say,  that  the  king  would  not  take  his  answer,  and  had  made  use  of  much 
flattery  and  persuasion,"  and  these  remarkable  words,  "  Mr  Yorke,  I  cannot 
do  without  you  ;  I  lay  my  commands  upon  you  ;  you  must  take  the  seals." 
It  is,  of  course,  possible  that  in  her  narrative  Mrs  Yorke  confuses  the  two 
meetings  with  the  king.     Add.  MS.,  35428,  f.  116,  f.  132. 

1  Add.  MS.,  35428,  f.  116.  2  Add.  MS.,  35428,  f.  132. 

3  In  a  note,  written  in  the  year  1781,  and  placed  at  the  end  of  his  narrative, 
Lord  Hardwicke  states  :  "  I  have  reason  to  think  from  what  Lord  H — gh  hinted 
to  me  this  winter  that  some  means  were  used,  which  I  was  ignorant  of,  to  bring 
my  brother  to  court  when  the  great  seal  was  forced  upon  him."  Add.  MS., 
35428,  f.  116. 

4  There  is  no  evidence  whether  Granby  resigned  his  office  before  or  after 


308     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

mined  upon  making  a  final  effort  to  win  Yorke.  Calling 
him  into  the  royal  closet,  he  sought  to  persuade  him  to 
accept  the  chancellorship,  and  apparently  did  not 
scruple  to  employ  methods  of  intimidation.  According 
to  Hardwicke,  the  king  said,  "  my  sleep  has  been  dis- 
turbed by  your  declining,  do  you  intend  to  declare 
yourself  unfit  for  it  ?  "  and  still  stronger  afterwards — 
"  if  you  will  not  comply,  it  must  make  an  eternal 
breach  between  us."  x 

Such  expressions,  coming  from  the  mouth  of  an 
occupant  of  the  throne,  were  invested  with  a  sinister 
and  threatening  import,  and  Yorke  was  well  enough 
versed  in  the  ways  of  courts  to  understand  that,  by 
refusing  to  assist  the  king  in  the  hour  of  his  need,  he 
for  ever  precluded  himself  from  being  considered  for 
the  office  of  lord  chancellor.  He  now  knew  that  the 
king  would  never  forgive  what  he  elected  to  construe 
as  a  personal  affront ;  and  that,  were  he  to  decline  to 
bend  to  the  will  of  the  crown,  all  political  and  legal 
ambition  was  at  an  end.  A  strong  and  resolute  man 
might  have  remained  unmoved  by  such  a  threat ; 
but  Yorke  was  emphatically  neither  strong  nor  deter- 
mined. Changing  his  mind  from  day  to  day,  and 
almost  from  hour  to  hour,  he  was  in  a  most  appro- 
priate disposition  to  be  cajoled  and  intimidated,  and, 
with  no  will  of  his  own  to  oppose  to  the  imperious 
will  of  his  master,  he  bowed  before  the  storm,  and 
accepted  the  great  seal. 

It  was  a  great  political  and  personal  triumph  for 
George  III.;  and  he  could  justly  claim  that  his  achieve- 
ment was  the  fruit  of  perseverance,  though  hardly 
of  that  virtue  alone.     He  could  boast  that  he  had 

Yorke  was  summoned  into  the  closet ;  but  the  point  is  not  material,  inasmuch 
as  the  king  must  have  been  quite  aware  of  his  intention. 
1  Add.  MS.,  35428,  f.  116. 


THE  FALL  OF  GRAFTON  309 

defeated  the  treacherous  designs  of  the  opposition, 
who  had  thought  that  the  expulsion  of  Camden  and 
the  resignation  of  Granby  would  bring  about  the 
destruction  of  the  ministry  ;  and  with  Yorke  on  the 
woolsack  there  was  a  good  hope  that  the  government 
might  successfully  withstand  the  attacks  of  the  parties 
opposed  to  it.  But  the  plans  of  kings,  like  those  of 
ordinary  men,  are  subjected  to  influences  beyond  their 
control  ;  and  George  III.  was  only  to  enjoy  a  three 
days'  triumph  which  was  to  end  in  a  dismal  tragedy. 

On  leaving  the  court  Charles  Yorke  called  upon 
Lord  Hardwicke  to  inform  him  of  what  he  had  done. 
He  found  Rockingham  closeted  with  his  brother,  and 
both  were  deeply  chagrined  on  learning  that  Yorke 
had  submitted  to  the  king's  will ;  and  they  had  just 
cause  for  vexation.  "  I  was  hurt  personally,"  writes 
Lord  Hardwicke,  '  at  the  figure  I  had  been  making 
for  a  day  before,  telling  everybody  by  his  authority 
that  he  was  determined  to  decline  "  ;l  and,  though 
Rockingham's  personal  pride  might  be  unaffected,  he 
understood  how  the  weakness  of  one  man  had  changed 
the  whole  prospect  of  the  opposition.  Neither  of  these 
two  angry  and  astonished  men  minced  their  words, 
and  a  stormy  scene  ensued.  They  told  the  new  lord 
chancellor  to  return  to  the  palace  and  withdraw  his 
consent  ;  but  he  refused,  saying  that  his  word  was 
pledged.  The  conversation  was  lengthy  and  altercat- 
ing, and  John  Yorke,  who  came  in  during  the  pro- 
ceedings, united  with  Rockingham  and  Hardwicke 
in  deploring  what  had  happened.  In  spite,  however, 
of  the  arguments  rained  upon  him,  Charles  Yorke 
refused  to  give  way  ;  and  after  a  heated  conversation 
of  at  least  three  hours2  left  his  brother's  house.     On 

1  Add.  MS.,  3542cS,  f.  116. 

2  Charles  Yorke  arrived  at  his  brother's  house  at  three  o'clock  in  the  after- 


S 


310    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

his  arrival  at  home,  he  found  that  his  wife  had  already 
heard  the  news  which  had  quickly  got  into  circulation  ; 
and  it  is  worthy  of  note  that  Yorke,  in  spite  of  the  angry 
scene  at  Hardwicke's  house,  seemed  in  better  spirits 
than  he  had  been  for  some  days  past  ;  x  a  change 
doubtless  due  to  the  fact  that  he  was  no  longer  tortured 
by  suspense,  having  taken  a  step  from  which  there  was 
no  going  back.  But  his  mind  was  by  no  means  com- 
pletely at  rest  ;  and  to  his  wife  he  confided  his  distress 
at  the  insults  he  had  suffered  at  the  hands  of  his  two 
brothers  and  Rockingham.  In  particular  he  com- 
plained of  Hardwicke,  who  apparently  had  "  exceeded 
all  bounds  of  reason  and  even  common  civility.  I 
hope  he  will  in  cooler  moments  think  better  of  it,  and 
reconcile  himself  to  me,  and  my  brother  John  also  ;  for 
if  I  lose  the  support  of  my  family,  I  shall  be  undone." 2 
Thus,  no  sooner  had  the  old  suspense  ended  than  its 
place  was  taken  by  a  new  anxiety  ;  and  Yorke  was 
no  happier  than  he  had  been  before.  He  now  feared 
that,  repudiated  by  his  family  and  the  Rockingham 
party  as  a  whole,  he  would  become  a  second  Duke  of 
Grafton,  a  servile  instrument  of  the  court.  From  such 
a  future  he  naturally  shrank,  for  it  was  not  with  that 
design  that  he  had  accepted  the  great  seal.  He 
had  hoped  that,  though  seated  on  the  woolsack,  he 
would  maintain  friendly  relations  with  his  kinsmen 
and  political  associates  ;  and  that,  gradually  and  by 
degrees,  the  administration  would  be  extended  so  as 
to  include  some  of  those  with  whom  he  had  formerly 
worked.  If,  however,  he  was  to  be  repudiated,  put 
to  the  ban,  and  treated  as  a  renegade,  then  all  hope  of 
happiness  was  gone  ;   and  so  greatly  did  this  fear  prey 

noon,  and  had  not  returned  to  his  house  in  Bloomsbury  Square  by  six  o'clock 
that  evening.     Add.  MS.,  35428,  f.  116,  f.  132. 

1  Add.  MS.,  35428,  f.  132.  *  Ibid. 


THE  FALL  OF  GRAFTON  311 

upon  his  mind  that  he  besought  his  wife  to  visit  Lord 
Hardwicke  that  very  evening,  and  endeavour  to  soften 
him,  arranging  to  call  for  her  at  his  brother's  house 
on  his  way  home  from  the  palace,  where  he  was  going 
to  receive  the  great  seal,  and  to  kiss  the  king's  hand 
on  being  made  Baron  of  Morden  in  the  county  of 
Cambridge. 

On  this  errand  of  mercy  Mrs  Yorke  departed  without 
delay,  and  was,  apparently,  having  some  success  in 
appeasing  Hardwicke's  wrath,  when  Charles  Yorke 
entered  the  room  to  conduct  his  wife  home.  Of  what 
then  followed  the  accounts  vary.  According  to  Mrs 
Yorke  the  quarrel  between  the  brothers  began  again, 
angry  words  passed,  and  only  when  she  burst  into  tears 
did  they  cease  their  bickering,  and  exchange  some 
formal  expressions  of  forgiveness.1  According  to  Lord 
Hardwicke,  however,  "  a  warm  word  did  not  escape 
either  of  us  "  ; 2  and  thus,  confronted  by  conflicting 
versions,  we  are  left  in  ignorance  of  what  actually  took 
place.  But  whatever  happened,  we  know  that  the 
second  meeting  with  his  brother  did  nothing  to  relieve 
Yorke's  fear  that  he  would  be  deserted  by  his  family. 
All  that  night  he  never  closed  his  eyes,  in  spite  of  having 
taken  a  sleeping  draught,  but  kept  muttering  to 
himself  that  he  was  utterly  undone,  and  that  it  would 
have  been  kinder  of  his  brothers  "  to  have  shot  him 
through  the  head  than  have  wounded  him  so  deeply 
by  their  unreasonable  anger."  3  Sometimes  he  cried 
out  that  he  must  return  the  great  seal,  for  he  could  not 
live  if  he  kept  it ;  and  by  six  o'clock  in  the  morning 
he  was  so  ill  and  distraught  that  his  terrified  wife  sent 
for  a  doctor  who,  having  inspected  his  patient,  promised 
to  call  again  before  the  end  of  the  day.      Obliged  to 

1  Add.  MS.,  35428,  f.  132.  2  Add.  MS.,  35428,  f.  116. 

3  Add.  MS.,  35428,  f.  132. 


312     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

rise  in  order  to  receive  the  numerous  visitors  who  came 
to  congratulate  him  upon  his  promotion,  the  new 
lord  chancellor  passed  a  day  of  misery  and  gloom. 
Amongst  those  who  called  was  John  Yorke  whom  he 
begged  to  take  a  place  in  the  administration,  murmur- 
ing, when  the  request  was  civilly  but  firmly  declined, 
that  "  then  it  would  be  the  ruin  of  him."  x  Lord 
Hardwicke  did  not  appear,  having  gone  into  the  country 
to  compose  his  thoughts  ;  and  his  absence  was  un- 
fortunate, for  it  must  have  confirmed  Charles  in  his 
belief  that  he  was  about  to  be  disowned  by  his  kinsmen.2 
Those  who  saw  him  on  this  day  were  struck  by  his 
depression  and  settled  melancholy.  "  I  was  myself," 
wrote  his  wife,  "  so  ill  with  fatigue  and  anxiety  that  I 
was  not  able  to  dine  with  him,  but  Dr  Plumptre  did. 
When  I  went  to  them  after  dinner,  I  found  Mr  Yorke 
in  a  state  of  fixed  melancholy  ;  he  neither  spoke  to 
me  or  to  Dr  Plumptre.  I  tried  every  method  to  awake 
and  amuse  him,  but  in  vain."  2 

Thus  Yorke  passed  the  first  day  of  his  life  as  lord 
chancellor  ;  and  his  condition  could  not  but  be  a 
cause  of  anxiety  to  those  to  whom  he  was  dear.  In  the 
evening  the  physician,  Dr  Watson,  called  again,  and  gave 
him  a  strong  opiate  which  enabled  him  at  least  to  get 
some  sleep  during  the  first  part  of  the  night.  Pro- 
longed rest,  however,  was  denied  him  :  "  about  the 
middle  of  the  night  he  awaked  in  a  delirium,  when  I 
again  sent  for  Dr  Watson.  Towards  the  morning  he 
was  more  composed,  and  at  noon  got  up." 3  He 
had  not  been  up  for  more  than  an  hour,  however, 
when  he  was  seized,  in  Mrs  Yorke's  words,  "  with  a 
vomiting  of  blood."  4  She  was  not  with  him  at  the 
time  of  the  seizure,  if  indeed  it  can  so  be  called  ;  but, 

1  Add.  MS.,  35428,  f.  116.  2  Add.  MS.,  35428,  f.  132. 

3  Add.  MS.,  35428,  f.  132.  4  Ibid. 


THE  FALL  OF  GRAFTON  313 

hurriedly  summoned  to  his  side,  found  him  almost 
speechless,  and  only  just  able  to  gasp  out  the  words, 
'  How  can  I  repay  your  kindness,  my  dear  love ;  God 
will  reward  you,  I  cannot  be  comforted."  1  These 
were  the  last  words  the  unhappy  woman  heard  from  the 
lips  of  her  husband  who  passed  away  about  five  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon  of  the  following  day,  Saturday,  January 
20th. 

From  that  time  to  this,  a  mystery  has  surrounded 
this  tragic  death  ;  and  it  is  unlikely  that  it  will  ever 
be  dispelled.  Contemporaries  were  widely  of  the 
opinion  that  Yorke  had  taken  his  own  life  ;  and  the 
evidence  available  at  the  present  day  is  not  sufficient 
to  prove  or  disprove  this  belief.  We  are  certainly 
not  driven  to  adopt  the  theory  of  suicide  as  the  only 
possible  solution  of  the  problem.  Yorke  was  not  in 
good  health  when  he  arrived  in  London  to  embark 
upon  the  road  which  was  to  lead  to  his  grave  ;  and  it 
is  clear  that  his  condition  soon  became  such  as  to  give 
rise  to  the  liveliest  anxiety.  It  is  therefore  not  im- 
probable that  he  may  have  broken  a  blood  vessel  on 
the  Friday  afternoon,  and,  in  a  weak  state  of  health, 
worn  out  by  the  acutest  mental  anxiety,  been  unable 
to  rally  his  strength.  Yet,  on  the  other  hand,  there  are 
certain  suspicious  circumstances  connected  with  the 
last  hours  of  his  life,  which  undoubtedly  lend  colour 
to  contemporary  opinion.  We  do  not  hear  of  anyone 
being  present  when  the  reported  "  vomiting  of  blood  ' 
took  place  ;  and  it  is  significant,  though  perhaps  nothing 
more,  that  Mrs  Yorke,  save  for  that  brief  and  tragic 
meeting  at  which  he  spoke  to  her  for  the  last  time,  was 
not  allowed  to  see  her  husband  until  life  was  extinct.2 
What  is  however  of  more  weight  is  the  suspicious 
secrecy  that  was  maintained  about  the  illness.     On 

1  Add.  MS.,  35428,  f.  132.  2  Ibid. 


314    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

the  Friday  evening  Grafton  called  at  Yorke's  house  by 
appointment,  apparently  in  complete  ignorance  that 
anything  had  happened  ;  and  his  account  of  his  visit 
is  worthy  of  quotation  :  "  By  his  own  appointment," 
he  writes,  "  I  went  to  his  house  about  nine  o'clock 
in  the  evening,  two  days  as  I  believe  after  Mr  Yorke 
had  been  sworn  in  at  a  council-board  summoned  for 
that  purpose  at  the  queen's  house.  Being  shown  into 
his  library  below,  I  waited  a  longer  time  than  I  supposed 
Mr  Yorke  would  have  kept  me  without  some  extra- 
ordinary cause.  After  above  half  an  hour  waiting, 
Dr  Watson,  his  physician,  came  into  the  room  ;  he 
appeared  somewhat  confused,  sat  himself  down  for  a 
few  minutes,  letting  me  know  that  Mr  Yorke  was  much 
indisposed  with  an  attack  of  colic."  x  This  account  is  of 
interest,  giving  as  it  does  a  glimpse  of  Watson  who  must 
have  known  the  secret  of  the  tragedy  ;  and  his  remark 
to  the  prime  minister  is  of  importance.  None  of  the 
symptoms  of  her  husband's  illness  described  by  Mrs 
Yorke  are  in  any  sense  peculiar  to,  or  even  character- 
istic of,  colic  ;  and  it  is  possible  that  the  physician, 
aware  that  his  patient  had  not  long  to  live,  attributed 
to  him  a  disease  which  would  account  for  a  speedy 
demise.2 

So  the  problem  stands  ;  and  the  real  truth  will  never 
be  known.3     In  any  case,  however,  Charles  Yorke  was 

1  Grafton's  Autobiography,  pp.  247-249. 

2  It  is  of  interest  that  Hardwicke  on  Friday  evening  had  apparently  aban- 
doned all  hope  of  his  brother's  life.  "  I  can  only  tell  your  lordship,"  he 
writes  to  Rockingham,  "  with  the  utmost  anxiety  and  concern,  that  my  dear 
and  unhappy  brother  is  much  worse,  and  that  I  tremble  for  the  event.  God 
send  me  and  his  family  strength  of  mind  enough  to  bear  against  this  too  pro- 
bable calamity.  I  abominate  the  court  politics,  and  almost  those  of  every 
sort."     Rockingham  Memoirs,  2,  164. 

3  The  above  account  of  the  last  days  of  Charles  Yorke's  life  is  based  upon 
the  narratives  of  Lord  Hardwicke  and  Mrs  Yorke  (Add.  MS.,  35428,  f.  116, 
f.  132).  These  have  been  used  by  Mr  Basil  Williams  for  an  interesting  and 
valuable  account  of  the  Yorke   family  {Transactions  of  the  Royal  Historical 


THE  FALL  OF  GRAFTON  315 

killed  by  anxiety  ;  and  no  small  part  of  the  responsi- 
bility for  his  death  falls  upon  the  king  who  had  not 
scrupled  to  employ  intimidation,  and  yet  had  failed  to 
attain  his  end.  By  the  evening  of  Saturday,  January 
20th,  the  administration  was  indeed  in  a  parlous 
condition.  There  was  no  lord  chancellor,  no  master 
of  the  ordnance,  and  Dunning,  the  solicitor-general, 
had  announced  his  intention  of  retiring  from  office. 
But  worse  was  to  follow,  the  Duke  of  Grafton  informing 
the  king  on  the  morning  of  Monday,  January  22nd, 
or  perhaps  earlier,  that  he  was  resolved  to  retire  from 
an  administration  which  indeed  he  ought  to  have 
abandoned  many  months  before.1  The  last  straw 
had  been  the  unexpected  death  of  Yorke,  upon  whose 
co-operation  Grafton  had  relied  to  enable  him  to 
struggle  against  the  forces  opposed  to  him  in  his  own 
cabinet.2  Now  that  hope  was  gone,  and  Grafton's 
ministerial  career  was,  characteristically  enough, 
brought  to  an  end  by  a  dismal  tragedy. 

If  George  III.  had  been  a  wiser  and  a  better  man, 
less  tenacious  of  the  privileges  of  the  crown,  and 
more  ready  to  listen  to  unpalatable  lessons  and  whole- 
some truths,  he  might  at  this  crisis  have  played  a  great 

Society,  3rd  series,  vol.  ii.)  to  which  I  am  much  indebted  ;  but  it  may  not  be 
out  of  place  to  say  a  few  words  about  them.  In  many  respects  Lord  Hard- 
wicke's  account  is  the  better  of  the  two.  It  was  written  within  a  twelve -month 
of  the  events  it  records,  whereas  Mrs  Yorke  did  not  begin  her  narrative  until 
October  1772,  and  did  not  complete  it  until  two  years  later.  In  consequence 
of  this  delay,  her  story  is  not  free  from  error  of  fact  ;  and  it  is  sometimes 
difficult  to  be  certain  that  she  is  placing  events  in  their  right  order.  Moreover, 
it  is  perfectly  clear  that  her  affection  for  her  husband  strongly  prejudices  her 
against  Hardwicke  and  Rockingham  ;  and  her  unsupported  testimony  on  the 
conduct  of  those  two  men  must  be  accepted  with  caution.  On  the  other 
hand  she  is  far  more  detailed  than  her  brother-in-law,  and  is  naturally  able 
to  give  a  far  fuller  account  of  her  husband's  state  of  mind  during  the  last 
three  days  of  his  life. 

1  Walpole's  Memoirs,  iv.,  40-41. 

2  "  Recollect  that  the  hopes  of  co-operation  with  Mr  Yorke  to  bring  about 
an  essential  addition  of  right  principle,  credit,  and  support,  vanished  of  course 
with  himself."     Grafton's  Autobiography,  pp.  249-250. 


316    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

and  noble  part  by  which  he  would  have  earned  for- 
giveness for  his  many  mistakes  during  the  first  decade 
of  his  reign.  He  was  now  no  longer  an  inexperienced 
boy,  but  a  ruler  of  mature  years,  whose  political  under- 
standing had  been  sharpened  and  developed  by  use  ; 
and  his  duty  lay  clearly  before  him.  His  ministry 
was  falling  to  pieces  before  his  eyes,  and  it  was  his 
business  not  to  retard  but  to  hasten  the  process  of 
dissolution,  in  order  that  a  cabinet  might  be  formed, 
which  would  be  both  popular  and  efficient.  And  such 
a  task  would  be  comparatively  easy  ;  for  the  men  out 
of  whom  a  new  administration  might  be  constructed 
lay  ready  to  his  hand.  The  followers  of  Chatham, 
Rockingham,  and  Grenville  were  now  no  longer  the 
enemies  they  had  once  been  ;  and  the  opposition,  if 
not  at  one  on  all  points,  at  least  enjoyed  a  degree  of 
unity  which  it  had  hitherto  seldom  attained.  A 
coalition  ministry,  composed  of  representatives  of  the 
three  parties  in  opposition,  might,  indeed,  have  been 
a  failure  ;  but  few  would  assert  that  the  experiment 
was  not  worthy  of  a  trial  ;  and  it  was  not  public  interest 
but  private  malice  that  caused  George  III.  to  turn 
his  back  upon  such  a  suggestion.  He  told  Conway, 
who  found  him  on  January  22nd  in  the  deepest  distress, 
that  he  would  employ  neither  Rockingham  nor  Chatham, 
both  of  whom,  he  declared,  "  were  engaged  to  dissolve 
the  parliament ;  but  he  would  abdicate  his  crown 
sooner.  Yes,"  continued  the  king,  laying  his  hand 
on  his  sword,  "  I  will  have  recourse  to  this  sooner  than 
yield  to  a  dissolution/'  1 

Thus  spoke  George  III.,  unable  to  overcome  his 
unconquerable  hate  of  men  who  had  dared  to  try  to 
thwart  his  will  ;  and  he  was  as  good  as  his  word.  He 
resolved  to  maintain  his  ministry  against  the  onslaught 

1  Walpole's  Memoirs,  iv.,  40-41. 


THE  FALL  OF  GRAFTON  317 

of  the  opposition,  if  only  a  man  could  be  found  brave 
enough  to  take  up  the  burden  which  Grafton  was 
laying  down.  His  choice  fell  upon  Lord  North,  chan- 
cellor of  the  exchequer  ;  and  in  a  letter,  written  on 
January  23rd,  he  fervently  appealed  for  his  assistance. 
"  After  seeing  you  last  night,"  he  wrote,  "  I  saw  Lord 
Weymouth  who,  by  my  direction,  will  wait  on  you  with 
Lord  Gower  this  morning  to  press  you  in  the  strongest 
manner  to  accept  the  office  of  first  commissioner  of  the 
treasury  ;  my  own  mind  is  more  and  more  strengthened 
with  the  Tightness  of  the  measure  that  would  prevent 
every  other  desertion.  You  must  easily  see  that  if 
you  do  not  accept,  I  have  no  peer  at  present  in  my 
service  that  I  could  consent  to  place  in  the  Duke  of 
Grafton's  employment.  Whatever  you  may  think, 
do  not  take  any  decision,  unless  it  is  one  of  instantly 
accepting,  without  a  farther  conversation  with  me. 
And  as  to  the  other  arrangements,  you  may  hear  what 
others  think,  but  keep  your  own  opinion  till  I  have 
seen  you."  1 

The  appeal  was  fervent  enough,  and  it  was  effective. 
With  characteristic  good-nature,  North  came  to  the 
rescue  of  the  crown  at  the  moment  of  dire  peril ;  and, 
at  his  master's  bidding,  accepted  an  office  which  he  was 
to  hold  for  twelve  years  to  the  destruction  both  of  his 
country  and  himself. 

1  Correspondence  of  George  III.  with  Lord  North,  i,  11-12. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE    UNITED   OPPOSITION 

The  resignation  of  the  Duke  of  Grafton  in  January, 
1770,  is  a  turning  point  in  the  political  history  of  the 
reign  of  George  III.  ;  and,  though  it  did  not  appear 
likely  at  the  time,  was  to  prove  a  piece  of  rare  good 
fortune  for  the  king,  marking  as  it  does  the  beginning 
of  an  era  happier  for  the  court  though  more  disastrous 
for  the  country.  Nine  years  had  elapsed  since  the 
king  had  taken  his  place  upon  the  throne,  and  de- 
clared war  upon  the  whig  oligarchy  ;  and  the  contest 
had  by  no  means  been  brought  to  a  conclusion,  or  even 
suspended  by  a  truce,  when  Grafton  retired  from 
office.  It  is  true  that  the  balance  of  success  certainly 
lay  with  the  crown  which  could  claim  many  victories 
to  its  credit ;  but  the  royal  triumph,  though  startling, 
had  not  been  overwhelming,  and  seldom  had  George 
III.  enjoyed  complete  immunity  from  harassing 
political  anxiety.  Not  infrequently  it  had  seemed 
that  the  edifice,  which  he  had  so  laboriously  reared, 
was  about  to  be  shattered  into  the  dust.  The  frequent 
changes  of  ministry,  which  had  occurred  since  the 
beginning  of  the  reign,  testify,  not  only  to  the  sub- 
servience of  a  parliament  which  supported  with  equal 
complacency  four  different  administrations,  but  also 
to  the  difficulties  which  the  king  experienced  in  the 
exercise  of  his  political  influence.  Bute  had  become 
impossible  because  of  his  unpopularity ;  Grenville  had 

318 


THE  UNITED  OPPOSITION  319 

destroyed  himself  by  his  adherence  to  principle  ; 
while  Rockingham  had  been  merely  a  stop-gap,  and 
Grafton  no  more  than  the  unworthy  and  unfortunate 
representative  of  a  great  statesman  in  whom  the  king 
thought,  for  a  brief  period,  that  he  had  found  salvation. 
Nor  had  the  search  for  a  suitable  instrument  been  the 
only  difficulty  which  hindered  the  complete  execution 
of  the  royal  design.  Refusing  to  acknowledge  defeat, 
clinging  to  hope  in  the  face  of  great  adversity,  and  ever 
on  the  alert  for  a  favourable  turn  of  fortune,  the 
ostracised  whigs  had  never  abandoned  their  attack 
upon  the  principles  of  personal  government  ;  and  if 
George  III.  had  succeeded  in  restoring  the  crown  to  a 
position  of  greater  authority  than  it  had  enjoyed  since 
the  death  of  Queen  Anne,  he  had  also  incidentally 
promoted  the  development  of  a  regular  and  systematic 
opposition.  But,  fierce  as  the  contest  had  been 
in  the  past,  no  previous  political  crisis  of  the  reign 
had  ever  been  so  acute  as  that  which  was  precipitated 
at  the  beginning  of  1770,  when  it  became  clear  that  the 
administration,  which  had  stood  for  four  years  as  a 
barrier  between  the  king  and  his  opponents,  was 
tottering  to  its  fall.  The  dismissal  of  Camden  and  the 
resignation  of  Granby  deprived  the  cabinet  of  the  only 
two  ministers  who  enjoyed  in  any  degree  the  confidence 
of  the  country  ;  and,  by  declining  to  continue  in  office, 
Grafton  publicly  confessed  his  inability  to  defend  any 
longer  the  citadel  of  the  royal  power.  For  a  few  hours, 
indeed,  it  had  seemed  that  the  situation  was  to  be  saved 
by  Charles  Yorke  ;  but  this  expectation  was  suddenly 
shattered  by  a  dismal  tragedy  which,  by  the  additional 
horror  of  personal  suffering,  served  to  intensify  the 
political  gloom.  In  such  circumstances  a  ruler  of  less 
courage  and  greater  wisdom  than  George  III.  might 
excusably   have   faltered,    and,   with   the   consolation 


320     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

that  he  had  made  a  good  fight,  submitted  to  a  defeat 
which  seemed  inevitable;  but,  to  the  king's  credit 
as  a  political  warrior,  a  policy  of  surrender  was  never 
part  of  his  programme.  Throughout  his  reign  he  con- 
sistently regarded  concession  as  lamentable  weakness  ; 
and  the  greater  the  danger  the  more  he  was  resolved 
to  overcome  it.  Grafton  might  fail  him,  and  Yorke 
might  find,  or  be  granted,  an  escape,  but  George  III. 
was  determined  never  to  truckle  to  those  who,  while 
professing  a  desire  to  be  his  servants,  were  resolved 
to  be  his  masters.  Chatham  had  sinned  far  too  deeply 
to  be  forgiven,  and  if  Rockingham  and  Grenville  were 
less  potent  for  mischief,  they  were  equally  guilty. 
All  three  in  varying  degrees  had  endeavoured  to  thwart 
the  will  of  the  crown  ;  and  to  confer  office  upon  such 
men,  to  invest  them  with  the  dignity  of  royal  advisers 
was,  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  king,  clearly  im- 
possible. Unprepared  for  such  a  complete  surrender 
of  the  principles  to  which  he  had  ever  adhered  since 
boyhood,  he  turned  to  North  for  salvation  in  this  hour 
of  peril.  And  North  was  not  found  wanting.  Stepping 
into  the  breach  at  the  royal  command,  he  undertook 
the  perilous  task  of  defending  the  king  against  his 
enemies  ;  and  his  courage  was  rewarded  with  con- 
spicuous success.  Never  before  or  after  in  his  reign  did 
the  king  have  a  prime  minister  so  fitted  in  every  way 
for  the  work  which  he  was  intended  to  accomplish,  and 
for  twelve  years  North  continued  in  office,  serving  only 
too  faithfully  his  royal  master.  Keeping  the  opposition 
at  bay  during  the  stormy  session  of  1770,  and  establish- 
ing his  administration  upon  the  secure  though  corrupt 
foundations  of  parliamentary  support,  he  triumphed 
where  Grafton  had  failed  ;  and  it  is  pleasing  to  find 
that  George  III.,  for  a  time  at  least,  was  sincerely 
grateful  to  the  man  who  had  rescued  him  from  a  great 


THE  UNITED  OPPOSITION  321 

disaster.  When,  seven  years  later,  the  king  asked 
permission  to  be  allowed  to  pay  his  minister's  debts, 
he  coupled  his  request  with  a  reference  to  the  circum- 
stances in  which  North  had  accepted  office,  asserting 
that  he  could  never  forget  his  conduct  "at  a  critical 
minute."  "  You  know  me  very  ill,"  he  wrote  in  a 
confidential  strain,  rarely  adopted  by  a  sovereign  to 
a  servant,  "  if  you  do  not  think  that  of  all  the  letters 
I  have  ever  wrote  to  you,  this  one  gives  me  the  most 
pleasure  ;  and  I  want  no  other  return  but  you  being 
convinced  that  I  love  you  as  well  as  a  man  of  worth 
as  I  esteem  you  as  a  minister."  x 

The  new  prime  minister  was  indeed  worthy  of  the 
king's  affection.  The  eldest  son  of  the  first  Earl  of 
Guilford,  he  was  still  a  comparatively  young  man  when 
he  succeeded  Grafton,  being  under  forty  years  of  age  ; 
but,  in  his  case,  the  advantages  of  youth  were  not  coun- 
terbalanced by  a  deficiency  in  political  experience.  For 
the  last  sixteen  years  he  had  sat  in  the  house  of  commons 
for  the  family  borough  of  Banbury,  a  seat  which  he 
continued  to  hold  until  he  succeeded  his  father  in 
the  peerage  in  1790  ;  and  he  had  been  given  every 
opportunity  of  acquiring  a  grasp  of  administrative 
business.  Appointed  a  junior  lord  of  the  treasury  in 
1759  by  his  kinsman,  the  Duke  of  Newcastle,  he  resigned 
that  office  on  the  formation  of  the  first  Rockingham 
administration  ;  but  in  the  following  year  he  again 
entered  official  life,  being  created  joint  paymaster  of 
the  forces  by  Lord  Chatham.  In  the  autumn  of  1767 
he  rose  to  far  greater  eminence,  succeeding  Charles 
Townshend  as  chancellor  of  the  exchequer  ;  and,  during 
the  last  months  of  the  Grafton  ministry,  he  practically 
acted  as  leader  of  the  lower  house  in  place  of  Henry 
Conway.     Thus  it  was  as  no  unknown  man  that  he  came 

1  George  III.'s  Correspondence  with  Lord  North,  2,  82-83. 


322     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

to  the  king's  assistance,  and  his  political  opinions 
were  such  as  to  ensure  him  a  favourable  reception  at 
court  ;  for  he  had  distinguished  himself  by  his  steady 
and  persistent  advocacy  of  tory  principles  of  govern- 
ment. Speaking  in  the  house  of  commons  in  1769, 
he  remarked  that  during  the  previous  seven  years  he 
had  never  given  his  support  to  any  of  the  popular 
measures  ;  x  and  such  a  boast  could  not  but  sound 
gratefully  in  the  ears  of  George  III.  Yet  North  was 
certainly  something  far  more  than  a  tory  reactionary, 
a  time-server,  or  hanger-on  of  the  court,  and  his  political 
success  contributes  one  of  the  many  triumphs  of  mind 
over  matter.  In  an  age  when  charm  of  person  and 
grace  of  demeanour  counted  for  far  more  in  politics  than 
they  do  at  the  present  day,  his  appearance  was  such 
as  to  make  him  the  obvious  butt  of  the  caricaturist  ; 
and  it  was  well  for  his  peace  of  mind  that  he  was  totally 
devoid  of  any  personal  vanity.  One  of  the  most 
ugly  and  awkward  of  men,  resembling  much  more  the 
stage  buffoon  than  the  typical  statesman,  he  was  not 
only  totally  lacking  in  dignity  of  deportment  but 
even  in  any  of  the  physical  attributes  which  are  more 
useful  than  is  commonly  recognised  to  leaders  of  men. 
Gross  and  unwieldy  in  figure,  with  a  swollen  and  in- 
flated countenance,  the  ludicrous  effect  of  which  was 
heightened  by  a  gaping  mouth  and  great,  bolting  eyes, 
his  appearance  was  close  upon  being  actually  repulsive  ; 
and  the  disagreeable  impression  was  not  removed  when 
he  spoke,  his  voice  being  harsh  and  unmusical.  By 
a  contemporary  he  was  compared  to  a  blind  trumpeter  ; 
but  the  author  of  this  apt  comparison  also  pointed 
out  that  within  this  rude  and  unattractive  casket 
many  rare  and  useful  talents  were  concealed.  If  not 
a  great  orator,  North  was  undoubtedly  a  very  quick 

1  Cavendish  Debates,  i,  299. 


THE  UNITED  OPPOSITION  323 

and  ready  debater;  and  in  ability,  industry,  and  tact, 
incomparably  superior  to  his  predecessor  in  office. 
In  happier  circumstances,  and  under  a  more  enlightened 
master,  he  might  have  earned  a  respectable  name  as 
a  statesman  ;  for,  if  without  great  political  insight 
or  understanding,  he  was  at  least  furnished  with  good 
sound  common-sense,  sufficient  to  have  enabled  him 
to  steer  safely  through  many  difficulties.  Moreover, 
to  this  useful  attribute  he  added  a  temper  so  sweet 
that  it  was  almost  impossible  to  ruffle  it,  and  a  wit  so 
ready  and  sparkling  that  it  even  amused  those 
against  whom  it  was  directed.  During  the  fierce 
debates  upon  the  American  war,  North  not  infrequently 
met  the  attack  of  an  embittered  member  of  the  opposi- 
tion with  a  witty  rejoinder  which  dissolved  the  house 
into  laughter  at  the  expense  of  the  assailant ;  and, 
during  the  same  period,  it  was  not  an  unknown  ex- 
perience for  a  speaker,  engaged  in  holding  up  the 
leader  of  the  government  to  the  scorn  of  all  honest 
men  and  succeeding  ages,  to  be  suddenly  disconcerted 
by  discovering  his  victim  peacefully  sleeping  upon 
the  treasury-bench.1 

Such  were  the  characteristics  of  the  man  who  was 
nominally  to  rule  England  for  twelve  years,  to  the 
country's  undoing  ;  and,  in  spite  of  his  many  at- 
tractive qualities  and  genuine  political  ability,  it  must 
be  admitted  that  he  was  entirely  unfitted  to  be  the 
minister  of  a  monarch  determined  to  overstep  the 
limits  to  which  custom  had  confined  a  constitutional 
king.  Indeed,  the  very  virtues  which  caused  him  to 
be  an  adored  father  and  charming  companion,  became 
serious  defects  when  he  entered  into  the  service  of 


1  Walpole's  Memoirs,  4,  52-56  ;  Walpole's  Letters,  7,  361-363.  An  inter- 
esting sketch  of  Lord  North  is  contained  in  Lord  Brougham's  Statesmen  of  the 
Time  of  George  III . 


324     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

the  crown.  A  happy  and  amiable  disposition,  a 
reluctance  to  give  pain,  and  a  sense  of  humour,  are 
such  attractive  qualities  in  a  private  individual  that 
we  are  apt  to  rate  them  too  highly  ;  and  it  is  open 
to  question  whether  they  are  not  serious  drawbacks 
to  a  statesman  who  must  needs  encounter  opposition, 
and  who  is  hindered  rather  than  assisted  by  a  humorous 
appreciation  of  the  littleness  of  the  issues  which  men 
think  great.  For,  however  that  may  be,  there  is  no 
doubt  that  these  amiable  characteristics  of  North, 
combined  with  his  bias  in  favour  of  toryism,  caused 
him  to  degenerate  into  a  tool  of  the  king  who  used  him 
to  rivet  his  will  upon  the  people.  The  severe  treatment, 
which  he  has  received  at  the  hands  of  historians,  is, 
indeed,  deserved,  for  out  of  his  own  mouth  he  stands 
condemned  of  continuing  the  American  war,  in 
deference  to  the  royal  will,  long  after  he  had  become 
convinced  that  there  was  no  alternative  for  this  country 
but  to  make  peace  with  the  revolted  colonists.  More- 
over, it  is  during  his  twelve  years  of  power  that  the 
influence  of  the  crown  reached  the  zenith  of  its  fortunes ; 
and,  though  North  might  be  in  office,  it  was  George 
III.  who  really  ruled.  Never  again  was  the  king  to 
have  a  minister  who  combined  such  a  readiness  to  serve 
with  such  skill  in  the  parliamentary  warfare  ;  and  it 
was  not  likely  that,  having  wandered  in  the  wilderness 
for  nine  years,  he  would  lightly  discard  a  servant  so 
well  suited  to  his  needs  ! 

Yet,  difficult  as  it  may  be  to  forgive  North  for  the 
evil  that  he  wrought,  it  ought  not  to  be  forgotten 
that  when  he  accepted  office  at  the  royal  command, 
he  conclusively  proved  that,  whatever  were  his  political 
defects,  a  lack  of  courage  was  not  amongst  them. 
The  situation  which  confronted  him  was  sufficiently 
adverse   to   have   intimidated   the   most   daring   and 


THE  UNITED  OPPOSITION  325 

reckless  of  men.     It  was  quite  possible  that  the  new 
prime  minister  might  be  out  of  office  in  a  few  days, 
for  panic  and  disorder  prevailed  in  the  ranks  of  the 
ministerialists,   while    the    opposition,   elated    by  the 
hope  of  victory,  was  eager  to  push  the  encounter  to 
the  final  stage.     Moreover,  the  enemies  of  the  court 
were  far  stronger  than  they  had  hitherto  been,  for, 
without  entering  upon  any  formal  treaty  of  alliance, 
Chatham,  Rockingham,  and  the  Grenvilles,  had  agreed 
to  unite  in  defence  of  the  rights  of  the  electors,  and  to 
refrain   from   wasting  their   energy  in   bickering   and 
discord.     Fragile  as  such  an  union  might  be,  it  was  at 
least  an  improvement  upon  what  had  gone  before,  and 
the  opposition  leaders  were  not  so  blind  as  to  fail  to 
see  that  the  time  had  at  last  come  for  them  to  stand 
together  against  the  throne.     Before  the  parliamentary 
session   was   many   days   old,    Chatham   had   visited 
Rockingham,  thus  proclaiming  to  the  world  that  the 
feud,   which   dated   from   the   summer   of   1766,   was 
dead  ;  1    and   Temple,   who   may   fairly   be   taken   as 
speaking  for  his  brother  as  well   as  for  himself,  was 
warm   in   his   approval   of  his   new   allies,   informing 
Lady   Chatham   that   "  everything   has    passed   very 
amicably   betwixt    Lord    Rockingham,    the    Duke   of 
Richmond,  and  me."  2     Such  harmony  had  long  been 
absent,  and,  now  that  it  had  come,  boded  no  good 
to  the  court  ;    for  though  the  ministers  still  possessed 
a  numerical  superiority  in  parliament,  it  was  extremely 
uncertain  how  long  they  would  continue  to  enjoy  this 
advantage  over  an  opposition  inspired  by  the  greatest 
statesman  of  the  time,  and  resolved  to  take  the  tide 
of  fortune  at  the  flood.     Restored  to  as  much  health 
as  he  ever  expected  to  enjoy,  and  to  all  his  old  vigour, 

1  Walpole's  Memoirs,  4,  39-40  ;    Letters,  7,  356-359. 

2  Chatham's  Correspondence,  3,  394-396. 


326     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

Chatham  was  burning  to  destroy  an  administration 
which  he  believed  guilty  of  trampling  English  liberty 
under  foot ;  and  it  was  impossible  to  forecast  the 
effect  of  the  onslaught  that  he  was  certain  to  make. 
It  might  well  happen  that  the  magic  of  his  name  and 
the  splendour  of  his  eloquence  would  arouse  such  a 
fury  in  the  nation  and  such  trepidation  in  parliament 
that  North  would  lose  his  majority,  and  the  king  be 
compelled  to  admit  the  victorious  opposition  into  office. 
Nor  would  Chatham  stand  alone  in  denunciation. 
Temple,  who  was  never  happier  than  when  engaged 
in  attack,  might  be  trusted  to  be  unsparing  in  the 
vitriolic  scorn  which  he  always  had  at  his  command  ; 
and  both  Shelburne  and  Camden,  though  so  lately 
in  the  service  of  the  court,  were  not  likely  to  be  over- 
merciful  in  their  treatment  of  their  former  colleagues. 
In  the  house  of  commons,  moreover,  the  contest  was 
certain  to  be  equally  fierce  and  acrimonious,  for  there, 
Burke,  Dowdeswell,  Savile  and  Meredith  were  to  be 
as  constant  in  criticism  as  they  had  been  in  the  past ; 
and  their  efforts  were  to  be  ably  seconded  by  a  recent 
and  unexpected  recruit  to  the  cause  of  freedom — 
Alexander  Wedderburn,  a  native  of  Scotland,  who 
had  lately  risen  to  parliamentary  eminence,  and 
proved  himself  a  debater  of  the  first  rank.  Though 
destined  very  shortly  to  be  branded  as  a  turn-coat, 
and  to  be  held  for  ever  in  abhorrence  by  every  good 
whig,  Wedderburn  at  this  time  enjoyed  a  reputation 
for  disinterested  patriotism  which  he  seems  to  have 
deserved  as  little  as  his  subsequent  ill-fame.  Nothing 
in  his  previous  career  justified  any  other  assumption 
than  that  he  was  an  extremely  able  man,  conscious  of 
his  own  power,  determined  to  advance  in  life,  and  the 
least  likely  of  all  men  to  starve  his  ambition  for  the 
sake  of  satisfying  a  principle.     His  consistency  lay  in 


THE  UNITED  OPPOSITION  327 

the  steadiness  with  which  he  sought  his  goal  ;  and, 
though  the  means  might  change,  the  end  always  re- 
mained the  same.  Trained  in  youth  for  the  legal  profes- 
sion, he  had  abandoned  the  Scotch  for  the  English  bar 
where  he  had  quickly  won  a  name  as  a  great  equity 
lawyer.  Entering  parliament  in  the  winter  of  1761, 
he  had  enlisted  under  the  banner  of  his  countryman, 
Lord  Bute,  and  appears  for  some  years  to  have  been 
a  consistent  advocate  of  tory  principles  of  government, 
actively  supporting  George  Grenville's  administration, 
and  going  into  opposition  on  the  formation  of  the  first 
Rockingham  ministry.  On  the  retirement  of  Bute 
from  any  active  participation  in  political  life, 
Wedderburn  transferred  his  allegiance  to  George 
Grenville  ;  and  he  was  doing  no  more  than  following 
in  the  footsteps  of  his  leader  when,  in  the  session  of 
1769,  he  went  into  open  opposition  to  the  court,  and 
warmly  embraced  the  cause  of  Wilkes.  His  legal 
knowledge,  and  his  undoubtedly  great  gifts  as  a 
parliamentary  debater,  rendered  him  a  most  valuable 
accession  of  strength  to  a  party  which  needed  all  the 
assistance  it  could  get ;  and  the  enthusiastic  welcome, 
which  was  given  him  by  his  new  allies,  is  a  tribute  to 
the  value  which  they  placed  upon  his  aid. 

Thus,  in  both  houses  of  parliament  the  government 
was  called  upon  to  meet  the  attack  of  some  of  the 
most  brilliant  debaters  and  distinguished  politicians 
of  the  age  ;  and  the  battle  began  before  North  had 
actually  taken  office.  On  Monday,  January  22nd,  Lord 
Rockingham,  acting  in  the  closest  concert  with  Chatham 
and  Temple,1  moved  that  on  the  following  Wednesday 

1  Lord  Temple's  letter  to  Lady  Chatham  on  January  16th,  1770,  clearly 
shows  that  he  and  Rockingham  were  working  together  ;  and  we  glean  from 
Horace  Walpole's  letters  that  Chatham's  visit  to  the  marquis  preceded  the 
debate  in  the  upper  house.  Chatham  Correspondence,  3,  394-396  ;  Walpole's 
Letters,  7,  356-359. 


328     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

the  house  of  lords  should  sit  in  committee  to  consider 
the  state  of  the  nation.  In  what  was  for  him  an 
unusually  lengthy  speech,  for,  conscious  of  his  own 
ineffectiveness  as  a  debater,  he  but  rarely  spoke, 
he  argued  that  the  popular  discontent  had  been  pro- 
voked, not  by  any  single  act  of  the  administration 
or  legislature,  but  by  years  of  consistent  misgovern- 
ment.  The  peace  of  Paris,  the  cyder  tax,  the  treat- 
ment of  the  colonies,  and  the  payment  of  the  king's 
debts  without  inquiry  into  the  past  or  guarantees 
for  the  future,  were  all  cited  to  prove  the  ample  excuse 
that  existed  for  the  national  dissatisfaction ;  and 
although,  as  was  inevitable,  there  was  a  reference 
to  the  expulsion  and  disqualification  of  Wilkes, 
Rockingham  was  careful  to  state  that  "  he  considered 
it  only  as  the  point  to  which  all  the  other  measures 
of  the  administration  had  tended,"  the  crowning  evil, 
but  certainly  not  the  sole  source  of  mischief.  In  thus 
seeking  to  explain  the  present  by  the  past,  Rockingham 
framed  an  indictment  which  was  directed  far  more 
against  the  crown  than  against  the  particular  adminis- 
tration which  happened  to  be  in  power;  and  still 
wider  ground  was  taken  by  Chatham  who,  though 
forestalled  in  his  intention  of  seconding  the  motion 
by  Grafton  who  was  anxious  to  show  show  little  he 
had  to  fear  from  an  inquiry,1  was  not  to  be  prevented 
from  expressing  his  opinions.  Paying  more  atten- 
tion than  Rockingham  to  the  persecution  of  Wilkes, 
Chatham  thundered  against  those  who,  in  order  to 
gratify  the  court,  had  cared  as  little  for  the  law  as  the 
most  despotic  rulers  in  the  past.  "  The  constitution," 
he  exclaimed,  "  has  been  grossly  violated.  The  con- 
stitution at  this  moment  stands  violated.  Until  that 
wound  be  healed,  until  that  grievance  be  redressed,  it 

1  Grafton's  Autobiography,  pp.  251-252  ;   Pari.  Hist.,  xvi.,  747. 


THE  UNITED  OPPOSITION  329 

is  in  vain  to  recommend  union  to  parliament ;  in 
vain  to  promote  concord  among  the  people."  Then, 
rising  from  the  particular  to  the  general,  he  proceeded, 
in  defiance  of  the  prejudices  of  his  class  and  time,1 
to  enlarge  upon  the  corrupt  and  unrepresentative 
character  of  parliament  as  the  root  evil  from  which 
all  others  sprang.  Asiatic  wealth,  he  argued,  had 
brought  in  its  train  Asiatic  methods  of  government, 
with  the  result  that  though  "  the  constitution  intended 
that  there  should  be  a  permanent  relation  between  the 
constituent  and  representative  body  of  the  people," 
it  had  become  impossible  for  any  candid  man  to  affirm 
that  '  as  the  house  of  commons  is  now  formed,  that 
relation  is  in  any  degree  preserved."  Thus,  out  of 
the  ashes  of  the  Middlesex  election  rose  parliamentary 
reform,  and  though  the  remedy  proposed  by  Chatham 
may  appear  to  us  niggardly  enough,  confined  as  it  was 
to  increasing  the  county  representation  in  order  to 
counterbalance  the  corrupt  influence  of  the  boroughs, 
it  was  no  small  matter  that  the  greatest  statesman  of 
the  day  had  pointed  out  the  plague  spot  in  the  con- 
stitution, and  declared  with  emphasis  that  an  unre- 
presentative parliament  would  always  incline  to  be 
subservient  to  the  court  and  tyrannical  to  the  people.2 
Succeeding  ages  have  rightly  recognised  Chatham 
on  this  occasion  as  the  herald  of  a  future  dawn  ;  but 
the  judgment  of  history  is  frequently  in  conflict  with 
the  verdict  of  contemporaries  ;  and  most  of  his  hearers 
thought  of  the  utterance  as  springing  from  the  rage 


1  How  an  intelligent  contemporary  regarded  parliamentary  reform  may 
be  gathered  from  Walpole's  remark  that  "  Lord  Chatham,  not  content  with 
endeavouring  to  confound  and  overturn  the  legislature,  has  thrown  out  that 
one  member  more  ought  to  be  added  to  each  county  ;  so  little  do  ambition 
and  indigence  scruple  to  strike  at  fundamentals."  Walpole's  Letters,  7,  359- 
36i. 

2  Pari.  Hist.,  xvi.,  741  ff.  ;   Grafton's  Autobiography,  pp.  251-252. 


330    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

of  the  baffled  intriguer  who,  prevented  from  steering 
the  ship  of  state  where  he  would,  was  prepared  to 
vent  his  disappointment  by  running  it  upon  the  rocks. 
Yet,  though  the  ministers  and  their  supporters  paid 
but  little  heed  to  what  was  by  far  the  most  momentous 
remark  made  in  the  course  of  the  debate,  they  were 
not  oblivious  to  the  danger  which  immediately  con- 
fronted them.  Much  had  been  said,  and  more  had  been 
hinted,  to  cause  the  king  and  his  advisers  to  view 
the  future  with  alarm  and  anxiety.  The  directness 
of  the  attack  and  the  harmony  in  the  opposition's 
ranks  were  clear  indications  that  a  stormy  time  was 
ahead,  and,  as  Rockingham's  motion  had  been  passed 
unopposed,  the  decisive  battle  might  be  expected  in 
two  days'  time.  The  notice  was  short,  and  the  forces 
of  the  government,  disorganised,  disheartened  and 
confused,  were  in  no  way  prepared  for  a  fight  to  the 
death  ;  and,  if  nothing  had  happened  to  modify  the 
situation,  it  is  by  no  means  unlikely  that  the  ministers 
would  have  suffered  a  humiliating  defeat.  Fortunately, 
however,  for  them,  Chatham  was  too  ill  to  attend  on 
the  appointed  day,  and  the  committee  of  the  house 
was  therefore  postponed  until  Friday,  February  2nd.1 
Great  was  the  advantage  of  this  delay  to  the  ministers, 
for  not  only  were  they  given  time  for  very  necessary 
preparation,  but  they  were  also  able  to  turn  their 
attention  to  the  house  of  commons  where  the  hunt 
was  equally  up  against  the  government.  Resolved 
to  lose  no  time  in  pressing  the  attack  home,  Dowdeswell 
on  January  25th  moved  that  "  this  house,  in  the  exercise 
of  its  judicature  in  matters  of  election,  is  bound  to  judge 
according  to  the  law  of  the  land,  and  the  known  and 
established  law  and  custom  of  parliament,  which  is  part 

1  Lord  Temple  to  Lady  Chatham  (undated),  Pitt  Papers,  R.  O.,  ist  series, 
vol.  lxii.  ;    Chatham  Correspondence,  3,  401-407. 


THE  UNITED  OPPOSITION  331 

thereof  "  ;  and  the  motion  was  skilfully  enough  framed. 
It  was  hardly  possible  to  allow  it  to  pass  unchallenged, 
bearing  as  it  did  such  obvious  reference  to  the  action 
of  the  government  in  the  Middlesex  election  ;  and  yet 
opposition  seemed  equally  difficult,  except  on  the  clearly 
impossible  ground  that  a  single  house  of  parliament 
was  free  from  all  restraints  of  law.  Thus,  driven 
between  the  horns  of  a  dilemma,  the  ministry  might 
possibly  have  remained  there,  had  it  not  been  rescued 
by  North  who  contrived  to  wreck  the  motion  by  the 
addition  of  a  clause  stating  that  the  disqualification 
of  Wilkes  was  agreeable  both  to  the  law  of  the  land  and 
of  parliament.  By  this  amendment  North  skilfully 
turned  the  position  taken  up  by  his  opponents  ;  and, 
as  was  only  natural,  the  motion  so  amended  was 
fiercely  opposed  by  those  who  were  responsible  for  it 
in  its  original  form.  The  struggle  was  protracted, 
and  it  was  only  after  a  debate  lasting  until  three  o'clock 
in  the  morning  that  the  ministers  carried  the  day. 
Their  triumph,  however,  was  not  great,  and  whatever 
joy  there  was  over  the  result  was  to  be  found  among 
the  vanquished  rather  than  among  the  victors.  The 
government  had  only  prevailed  in  a  very  full  house  by 
the  comparatively  small  majority  of  forty-four  ;  and, 
what  was  of  still  greater  significance,  the  defeated 
minority  included  some  who  were  reckoned  as  habitual 
supporters  of  the  ministry.  Country  gentlemen  like 
the  Ridleys  of  Northumberland,  and  a  well  known 
adherent  of  the  court  like  Lord  Percy,  Bute's  son-in- 
law,  had  thrown  in  their  lot  with  the  opposition  ;  and 
one  enthusiastic  follower  of  Chatham  warmly  con- 
gratulated his  leader  upon  the  "  fine  increase  to 
minerity  "  (sic).1 

1  John  Calcraft   to   Chatham,  January  26th,    1770;     Pitt   Papers,  R.  O., 
1  st  series,  vol.  xxv.     For  a  general  account  of  the  debate,  see  Walpole's  Memoirs, 


332     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

It  was  two  days  after  this  debate  in  the  commons 
that  Grafton  informed  the  king  that  he  could  no 
longer  continue  in  his  service.  For  nearly  four  years 
he  had  borne  the  burden  of  an  office  which  he  had 
been  reluctant  to  accept  when  it  was  first  offered  him  ; 
and  few  men  have  been  equally  unfortunate  in  their 
experience  of  administrative  life.  Almost  everything 
he  touched  had  turned  to  disaster,  and  he  neither 
inspired  confidence  in  those  whom  he  served,  nor  fear 
in  those  whom  he  opposed.  By  some  he  has  been 
depicted  as  a  tyrant  anxious  to  strike  down  liberty 
wherever  he  detected  it,  and  by  others  as  a  weak, 
helpless  creature,  unstable  as  water  and  shifting  as 
sand.  Thus,  decried  by  friends  and  foes  alike,  he  has 
come  down  in  history  with  a  sorry  reputation ;  and 
it  is  only  comparatively  lately  that  it  has  been  under- 
stood that  he  was,  to  a  very  great  extent,  the  plaything 
of  cruel  circumstance.  His  many  faults  of  character, 
his  indolence,  his  selfish  love  of  pleasure,  and  his 
irresolution,  indeed  unfitted  him  to  be  the  ruler  of  the 
country  in  a  perilous  moment  of  its  history  ;  but, 
aware  as  he  was  of  his  own  deficiencies,  it  is  extremely 
unlikely  that  he  would  have  set  out  upon  the  fatal 
journey  had  he  foreseen  the  accidents  which  were 
to  befall  him  on  his  way.  The  totally  unexpected 
collapse  in  Chatham's  health  imposed  on  him  a  burden 
which  he  was  totally  unable  to  bear  ;  and  from  that  time 
he  plays  the  sorry  part  of  a  victim  of  forces  which 
he  was  too  weak  to  resist.  Flouted  by  Charles 
Townshend,  dominated  by  the  king,  and  overpowered 
by  the  Bedford  faction,  Grafton  might  have  saved 
himself  from  much  ignominy  and  mental  suffering 
by  timely  resignation  ;    and  for  the  fact  that  he  did 

4,   42-44  ;    Pari.   Hist.,   xvi.,    785    ff.  ;    Add.   MS.,    35609,  f.  141  ;    Walpole's 
Letters,  7,  361-363. 


THE  UNITED  OPPOSITION  333 

not  take  this  easy  road  out  of  all  his  many  difficulties, 
George  III.  and  Chatham  must  be  held  responsible. 
It  was  they  who  had  urged  him  to  stay,  who  had 
impressed  upon  him  that  his  duty  consisted  in  remaining 
at  his  post,  and  the  advice  they  gave  recoiled  upon 
themselves.  If  Grafton  had  not  continued  in  office, 
it  is  extremely  unlikely  that  Chatham,  on  his  recovery, 
would  have  found  so  much  to  deplore  in  the  state  of 
the  nation  ;  and  the  king  had  little  reason  to  be  satis- 
fied with  a  servant  who  had  brought  the  administra- 
tion to  the  condition  in  which  it  was  at  the  beginning 
of  1770.  It  must  have  been  with  a  heavy  heart 
that  North  undertook  to  repair  the  damage  which 
Grafton  had  wrought  ;  and  he  might  well  think  that 
the  mischief  had  been  allowed  to  go  too  far.  "  In 
the  meantime,"  wrote  Walpole  about  this  time,  "  Lord 
North  is  first  minister.  He  is  much  more  able,  more 
active,  more  assiduous,  more  resolute  and  more  fitted 
to  deal  with  mankind.  But  whether  the  apparent, 
nay,  glaring  timidity  of  the  duke  may  not  have  spread 
too  general  an  alarm  is  more  than  probable."  * 

Such  was  the  opinion  of  a  well-informed  and 
sagacious  contemporary,  but  no  great  insight  was 
needed  to  perceive  the  difficulties  which  attended 
the  undertaking.  The  most  superficial  observer  might 
have  seen  that  the  new  prime  minister  was  in  the 
unfortunate  position  of  a  general  who  takes  command 
in  the  middle  of  the  battle  ;  and  no  sooner  had  he 
kissed  the  king's  hand  for  office  than  he  was  compelled 
to  face  the  full  fury  of  the  storm.  Elated  by  the 
comparative  success  of  his  previous  motion,  Dowdeswell, 
on  January  31st,  moved  that  "  by  the  law  of  the  land, 
and  the  known  law  and  usage  of  parliament,  no  person, 
eligible  by  common  right,  can  be  incapacitated  by  vote 

1  Walpole's  Letters,  7,  361-363. 


334     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

or  resolution  of  this  house,  but  by  act  of  parliament 
only."  No  challenge  of  the  legality  of  what  the 
ministry  had  done  could  well  be  more  direct  ;  and, 
if  the  motion  was  carried,  it  could  hardly  fail  to  be  a 
death-blow  to  the  administration.  Nor  was  it  over- 
sanguine  on  the  part  of  the  opposition  to  believe  that 
there  was  a  reasonable  chance  of  success.  The  recent 
reduction  in  the  usual  ministerial  majority,  the  changes 
in  the  cabinet,  and  the  not  unimportant  fact  that, 
whatever  experience  and  success  North  had  previously 
had,  he  was  a  novice  as  prime  minister,  might  easily 
lead  men  to  believe  that  the  government  was  doomed, 
and  to  throw  in  their  lot  with  what  they  expected 
to  be  the  triumphant  opposition. 

If  events  had  followed  this  course,  if  North  had 
failed  in  what  may  not  unfittingly  be  described  as  his 
Marengo,  then  the  debate  on  January  31st  would  have 
become  historic,  and,  perhaps,  marked  the  beginning 
of  a  new  era  in  the  reign.  The  lengthy  campaign 
between  the  crown  and  the  whig  party  was  not  destined, 
however,  to  have  such  a  dramatic  end  ;  and  great  was 
the  disappointment  in  the  ranks  of  the  opposition  when, 
after  Dowdeswell's  resolution  had  been  debated  until 
one  o'clock  in  the  morning,  a  motion,  put  by  Lord 
North,  that  the  chairman  might  leave  the  chair,  was 
carried  by  two  hundred  and  twenty-six  to  one  hundred 
and  eighty-six  votes.1  The  ministerial  majority  was, 
it  is  true,  slightly  less  than  it  had  been  on  January 
25th  ;  but  the  cause  of  mortification  to  the  opposition 
was  that  it  was  no  smaller.  An  administration  which, 
in  the  most  adverse  circumstances,  had  prevailed  by 
a  majority  of  forty,  might  well  be  expected  to  in- 
crease its  numerical  strength  as  it  became  more  firmly 

1  Add.  MS.,  35609,  f.  143  ;  Pari.  Hist.,  xvi.,  800  ff.  ;  Walpole's  Memoirs, 
4,  50,  ff. 


THE  UNITED  OPPOSITION  335 

established  in  power  ;  and  the  chagrin  felt  by  the 
supporters  of  the  defeated  motion  was  certainly  not 
unjustified.  Writing  to  Chatham  on  the  day  following 
the  battle,  Rockingham  remarked  with  no  little  bitter- 
ness that  the  earl  "  would  not  be  much  surprised  at 
the  majority  last  night  having  been  two  hundred 
and  twenty-six,  as  his  lordship  must  have  seen  for  some 
years  past  that  it  is  neither  men  nor  measures  but 
something  else  which  operates  in  these  times  " ;  x  but 
the  disappointment,  which  was  felt  by  Rockingham 
and  his  friends,  was  more  than  counterbalanced  by  the 
joy  at  the  court  that  so  critical  a  day  had  passed  off 
so  successfully.  '  I  am  greatly  rejoiced  at  the  con- 
clusion of  the  debate,"  wrote  George  III.  to  Lord 
North ; 2  and  though  an  impartial  and  critical 
observer  like  Horace  Walpole  declined  to  believe 
that  the  ministry  was  out  of  the  wood,3  men  of  more 
enthusiastic  temperament  were  ready  to  jump  to 
the  conclusion  that  all  danger  was  over.  "  You  have 
no  doubt  observed  with  surprise,"  wrote  Edward 
Sedgwick  to  his  friend,  Weston  Underwood,  "  that 
contrary  to  all  experience  and  probability,  the  critical 
resignation  of  the  Duke  of  Grafton  did  not  at  all 
diminish  the  number  of  the  majority  on  the  great  day 
of  battle,  but  on  the  contrary  that  number  was  increased 
by  two,4  and  everything  since  looks  as  if  the  present 
ministry  were  to  continue  with  Lord  North  at  the  head 
of  the  treasury."  5 

The  whigs  had,  therefore,  failed  in  the  lower  house, 
and  no  happier  fortune  attended  their  efforts  in  the 

1  Chatham  Correspondence,  3,  414-415. 

2  Correspondence  of  George  III.  with  Lord  North,  1,13. 

3  Walpole's  Letters,  7,  363-366. 

4  On  January  25th  the  numbers  on  a  division  had  been  224  to  180. 

5  Hist.  MSS.  Comm.  Weston  Underwood  MSS.,  421.  It  should  be 
noted,  however,  that  this  letter  was  written  after  the  debate  in  the  upper 
house  on  February  2nd,  winch  may  account  for  its  sanguine  tone. 


336     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

house  of  lords,  where,  on  February  2nd,  the  day 
fixed  for  the  peers  to  go  into  committee  upon  the  state 
of  the  nation,  Lord  Rockingham  moved  a  resolution 
similar  to  that  which  Dowdeswell  had  failed  to  carry 
in  the  house  of  commons.  The  motion,  which  was 
debated  until  past  midnight,  and  most  eloquently 
supported  by  Chatham,  was  finally  rejected  by  ninety- 
six  to  forty-seven  votes ;  and  no  sooner  had  the 
division  been  taken  than  Lord  Marchmont,  regardless 
of  the  lateness  of  the  hour,  moved  that  "  any  resolu- 
tion of  this  house,  directly  or  indirectly  impeaching 
a  judgment  of  the  house  of  commons,  in  a  matter  where 
their  jurisdiction  is  competent,  final,  and  conclusive, 
would  be  a  violation  of  the  constitutional  rights  of  the 
commons,  tends  to  make  a  breach  between  the  two 
houses  of  parliament,  and  leads  to  general  confusion." 
On  this  question  the  battle  began  again  and  was 
continued  until  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  an  unusually 
late  hour  for  the  house  to  sit.  Hard  words  were  spoken, 
Camden  being  bitterly  reviled  by  Weymouth  and 
Sandwich  for  having  concealed  from  them,  while  yet 
their  colleague,  his  real  opinion  upon  the  legality  of 
Wilkes'  disqualification  ;  a  charge  upon  which  the  ex- 
lord  chancellor  defended  himself  but  weakly.  But 
the  debate  was  not  confined  to  merely  personal  recrim- 
inations ;  with  more  than  even  his  usual  oratorical 
vigour,  Chatham  besought  the  peers,  by  the  noble 
blood  which  ran  in  their  veins,  and  by  their  noble 
ancestors  who  had  fought  so  bravely  in  the  cause  of 
freedom,  not  to  regard  with  cynical  indifference  the 
violation  of  the  cherished  law  of  England  ;  and  then, 
as  though  bowing  his  head  to  the  inevitable,  suddenly 
cried  out  that  "  if  the  constitution  must  be  wounded, 
let  it  not  receive  its  mortal  stab  at  this  dark  and 
midnight  hour."     The  appeal,  however,  fell  upon  deaf 


THE  UNITED  OPPOSITION  337 

ears  ;    and  when  Marchmont's  motion  was  put  to  the 
vote  it  was  carried  in  the  affirmative.1 

In  both  houses  of  parliament,  therefore,  the  ministry 
had  more  than  stood  its  ground  against  its  enemies  ; 
and  if  North  only  continued  as  he  had  begun,  George 
III.  might  count  upon  a  notable  triumph  over  what 
he  persisted  in  believing  to  be  the  forces  of  faction. 
And,  as  the  month  of  February  drew  to  a  close,  it 
became  more  and  more  apparent  that  the  hope  which 
the  opposition  had  cherished  of  storming  the  royal 
closet  at  the  point  of  the  sword,  was  fast  fading  into 
the  light  of  common  day.  When  on  Monday,  February 
1 2th,  Dowdeswell  asked  leave  to  introduce  a  bill  for 
the  disenfranchisement  of  certain  of  the  lower  revenue 
officers,  permission  was  refused  by  seventy-five  votes, 
a  majority  far  larger  than  the  government  had  expected 
upon  a  proposal  which  might  be  expected  to  commend 
itself  to  the  approval  of  many  ; 2  and  when,  a  few  days 
later,  Dowdeswell's  resolution  of  the  previous  25th 
of  January,  as  amended  by  North,  was  reported  to 
the  house,  it  was  successfully  carried  by  the  government 
against  the  opposition  by  a  majority  of  seventy- 
eight.3  As  often  happens,  those  who  had  been  beaten 
sought  to  explain  away  their  failure  by  assigning 
every  reason  except  the  true  one  ;  and  Calcraft  in- 
geniously argued  that  the  decline  in  the  numerical 
strength  of  the  opposition  was  merely  temporary  and 
accidental.     "  We  rather  gain  than   lose,"   he   wrote 

1  Pari.  Hist.,  xvi.,  813  ff  ;  Grafton's  Autobiography,  251-252;  Walpole's 
Memoirs,  iv.,  58-59. 

2  "  The  motion  was  popular  and  constitutional,  but  the  old  artillery  of 
the  court,  the  tories,  were  played  against  the  proposal,  and  it  was  rejected 
by  263  against  188."  Walpole's  Memoirs,  iv.,  60.  George  III.  also  remarks 
in  a  letter  to  North  that,  "  as  the  question  proposed  by  Mr  Dowdeswell  was 
well  calculated  to  catch  many  persons,  I  think  it  has  been  rejected  by  a  very 
handsome  majority."  Correspondence  of  George  III.  with  Lord  North,  1,14. 
For  an  account  of  the  debate  see  Pari.  Hist.,  xvi.,  833,  ff. 

3  Cavendish  Debates,  1,  488  ff.  ;    Parliamentary  History,  xvi.,  807  ff. 

Y 


338     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

to  Chatham,  "  though  sickness,  loss  of  relations,  idleness 
and  the  ridotto  prevented  our  friends'  attendance  ; 
had  not  these  accidents  interfered,  we  should  have 
turned  two  hundred  which  we  have  strength  to  do."  1 
But  explanations  such  as  these  are  too  common  to 
gain  easy  acceptance ;  and,  to  the  discerning  and 
unprejudiced  observer,  it  was  quite  clear  that  the 
opposition  was  rapidly  losing  ground  in  the  house 
of  commons.  Nor  was  the  prospect  any  brighter 
in  the  upper  house ;  for  when  on  February  12th 
Chatham  moved  that  a  capacity  for  election  to  parlia- 
ment did  not  depend  finally  upon  a  determination  of  the 
house  of  commons,  the  motion  was  defeated  by  the 
previous  question  being  put  and  carried.2  Seeing  the 
ministry  thus  triumphant  in  both  houses  men  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  tide  of  good  fortune  had 
turned  definitely  in  favour  of  the  court.  "  In  good 
truth,"  wrote  Walpole,  towards  the  end  of  the  month, 
"  that  stock  (Wilkes)  is  fallen  very  low.  The  court  has 
recovered  a  majority  of  seventy-five  in  the  house  of 
commons  ;  and  the  party  has  succeeded  so  ill  in  the  lords 
that  my  Lord  Chatham  has  betaken  himself  to  the  gout, 
and  appears  no  more."  3  Such  was  the  general  opinion  ; 
and  in  a  letter,  written  on  the  day  after  the  debates 
in  both  houses  on  February  12th,  Simon  Fraser, 
regardless  of  grammar,  remarked  how  "  to-day  the 
countenances  of  the  friends  of  government  is  cleared 
up,  and  all  partys  agree  that  we  shall  have  no  change 
this  winter."  4 

It  is  far  easier  to  state  the  fact  of  North's  success 
than  to  assign  the  cause  ;  and  it  may  be  partly  for  this 
reason  that  little  attention  has  hitherto  been  paid  to 

1  John  Calcraft  to  Lord  Chatham,  Pitt  Papers,  R.O.,  ist  series,  vol.  xxv. 

2  Walpole's  Memoirs,  iv.,  60. 

3  Walpole's  Letters,  7,  366-369. 

4  Hist  MSS.  Comm.,  nth  Report,  Appendix,  Part  iv.,  p.  407. 


THE  UNITED  OPPOSITION  339 

an  achievement  which,  quite  apart  from  its  permanent 
value,  was  at  least  a  triumph  of  no  mean  skill.  The 
simple  explanation  of  bribery  and  corruption  is  certainly 
not  an  adequate  solution  of  the  problem,  for  there  is 
no  evidence  that  Grafton  was  hindered  in  the  working 
of  this  part  of  the  machinery  of  government,  or  that 
North  was  given  greater  facilities  than  his  predecessor 
enjoyed.  In  one  respect,  however,  North  was  far  more 
favourably  situated  than  Grafton  for  the  purpose  of 
dispensing  the  loaves  and  fishes  of  official  life  ;  for, 
as  a  member  of  the  house  of  commons,  he  was  more 
in  touch  with  the  popular  assembly  in  which,  after  all, 
the  most  momentous  battles  of  the  administration 
had  to  be  fought.  Even  a  veteran  and  experienced 
leader  like  Newcastle  had  found  it  almost  impossible 
to  control  the  lower  from  the  upper  house,  to  marshal 
the  battalions  in  support  of  the  ministry,  and  to  know 
which  of  the  representatives  of  the  people  needed  to 
be  rewarded  for  their  devotion  ;  and  what  a  Newcastle 
had  found  difficult,  a  Grafton  was  certainly  not  likely 
to  achieve.  Yet,  when  every  allowance  has  been  made 
for  the  advantage  which  North  enjoyed  from  being 
a  commoner,  it  remains  true  that  he  owed  his  triumph 
not  a  little  to  his  own  skill,  vigour,  and  perseverance. 
Whereas  Grafton  had  been  listless,  indifferent,  weary 
of  the  contest,  and  almost  convinced  that  victory 
was  as  fatal  as  defeat,  North  conscientiously  believed 
that  the  time  had  come  to  make  a  resolute  stand  against 
the  forces  of  faction  both  at  home  and  in  the  colonies. 
It  was  the  change  of  the  believer  for  the  cynic  that 
worked  the  miracle,  and  the  triumph  of  North  was  the 
triumph  of  faith.  He  may  have  been  misguided,  but 
at  this  stage  of  his  career  he  was  at  least  sincere  in 
believing  that  in  defeating  the  opposition  he  was 
preserving  the  court   from  the  fury  of  disappointed 


340     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

political  factions,  and  safeguarding  the  English  con- 
stitution from  oligarchical  perversion.  It  was  in  this 
sign  that  he  conquered. 

Yet,  great  as  was  his  courage,  it  must  be  remembered 
that  he  profited  not  a  little  by  the  disabilities  under 
which  his  antagonists  suffered,  and  the  mistakes  of 
which  they  were  guilty.  In  electing  to  continue  the 
contest  against  the  court  upon  the  old  question  of  the 
Middlesex  election,  Chatham  and  his  associates  were 
doubtless  inspired  by  a  sound  political  instinct,  for 
there  was  no  doubt  that  the  treatment  of  Wilkes  had 
stirred  the  indignation  of  the  country,  and  therefore 
made  a  good  rallying  cry  against  the  court ;  but, 
unfortunately  for  the  opposition,  the  topic  had  been 
so  much  discussed  and  debated  that  it  was  difficult 
to  say  anything  new  upon  it,  and  there  were  in- 
dications of  a  growing  indifference  in  the  country. 
Few  political  questions  indeed  maintain  their  supremacy 
over  the  popular  imagination  for  any  length  of  time, 
and  nothing  perhaps  is  quite  so  extinct  as  a  controversy 
which  is  a  twelve-month  old.  Wilkes  had  served 
his  turn,  and  it  would  have  been  well  if  the  opposition 
had  been  able  to  enlist  the  sympathy  of  the  nation 
in  some  less  well-worn  theme.  But  this  was  impossible, 
for  upon  the  only  other  topic  of  interest  and  importance 
then  before  the  country,  the  treatment  of  the  colonies, 
the  members  of  the  opposition  were  certainly  not  in 
agreement  ;  and  so  they  were  compelled  to  continue 
upon  a  dusty  and  well-trodden  road  for  want  of  know- 
ing where  else  to  go.  The  Middlesex  election,  with  all 
its  numerous  ramifications,  was  their  only  bond  of 
union  ;  and  the  link  was  certainly  not  too  strong. 
While  both  Chatham  and  Rockingham  believed  that 
Wilkes  had  been  illegally  disqualified,  they  differed 
as  to  the  method  of  procedure  to  be  adopted  for  righting 


THE  UNITED  OPPOSITION  341 

the  wrong,  Chatham  favouring  a  far  more  democratic 
course  of  action  than  Rockingham  with  his  aristocratic 
prejudices  approved  ;  and  although  this  divergence 
of  opinion  was,  for  the  time  being,  successfully  sup- 
pressed, signs  are  not  wanting  that  no  little  diplomacy 
and  skill  were  needed  from  the  first  to  avert  the  dis- 
ruption of  the  so  recently  concluded  alliance.  Thus, 
only  with  extreme  reluctance  and  hesitation  had  the 
followers  of  Rockingham  agreed  that  a  motion  for  the 
increase  of  the  navy,  which  had  been  originally  fixed 
to  be  made  by  Lord  Craven  on  February  19th,  should 
be  postponed  until  March  2nd,  in  order  that  Chatham, 
who  was  suffering  from  gout,  might  be  able  to  attend  ; 
and  Temple  was  highly  indignant  that  the  delay,  which 
he  demanded  on  behalf  of  his  brother-in-law  as  a 
right,  should  only  be  grudgingly  granted  as  a  boon. 
"  Our  friends  give  themselves  too  many  airs  of  taking 
the  lead,"  he  wrote  to  his  sister.  "  I  matter  not 
the  outward  trappings,  but  really  we  must  not  be 
dragged  by  the  Duke  of  Richmond."  1 

1  Lord  Temple  to  Lady  Chatham,  February  19th,  1770;  Pitt  Papers, 
R.O.,  1st  series,  vol.  lxii.  In  another  letter  to  Lady  Chatham,  he  gives  an 
interesting  meeting  at  Rockingham's  house,  summoned  to  consider  the  policy 
of  postponement.  "  The  intention  of  going  on  without  my  dear  sister's  lord  and 
master,"  he  wrote,  "  was  indeed  at  last  checked,  but  the  resolution  was  firmly 
taken,  and  not  without  much  reluctance  departed  from.  My  Lord  Rocking- 
ham is  very  polite,  but  be  it  then  known  unto  your  ladyship  that  above  one 
dozen  of  our  lordships  met  in  Grosvenor  Square  in  consequence  of  my  pro- 
position. .  .  .  Lord  Rockingham  came  to  sit  by  me.  He  added  many,  many 
arguments  to  those  he  had  used  in  the  morning  for  not  changing  the  day, 
and  not  without  art.  Upon  my  saying  it  was  Lord  Chatham's  own  proposition  ; 
it  had  been  talked  of  in  the  house  of  lords  by  the  Duke  of  Richmond,  Lord 
Rockingham,  and  Lord  Chatham,  and  they  scarce  knew  who  first  dropped  the 
hint.  The  council  sat.  The  Duke  of  Manchester  opens  strongly  .  .  .  for 
going  on,  the  Duke  of  Richmond  supports  it  at  large — Lord  Coventry  and 
Lord  Bucks  declares  a  contrary  opinion  ;  Lord  Shelburne  joyns  with  them, 
and  adds  the  warmest  testimonies  of  respect  and  devotion  to  Lord  Chatham. 
Lord  Suffolk  speaks  strongly  for  putting  off,  Lord  Lyttelton  is  of  the  same 
opinion,  and  finally  your  humble  servant,  with  great  modesty  and  submission 
to  the  determination  of  that  most  respectable  assembly.  ...  At  last  some 
of  the  opposite  grandees  confer  in  corners,  and  the  result  is  consent  to  put 


342     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

By  the  weakness  of  his  opponents,  therefore,  as 
well  as  by  his  own  skill,  North  had  contrived  to  carry 
the  government  successfully  through  a  crisis  of  its 
fortunes  ;  and  from  the  end  of  February  until  the  middle 
of  April,  when  parliament  rose  for  the  Easter  holidays, 
he  more  than  held  his  own  against  those  who  had 
thought  in  their  pride  that  their  hour  had  at  last  come. 
The  parliamentary  history  of  these  weeks  is  no  narrative 
of  the  varying  fortunes  of  war,  of  battles  lost  and 
others  won,  but  a  fairly  steady  record  of  the  triumph 
of  the  ministry.  When  on  the  last  day  of  February 
Grenville  moved  for  an  account  of  all  the  civil  list 
expenses,  which  had  been  incurred  during  the  past 
year,  to  be  laid  before  the  house,  the  proposal  was 
rejected  by  ninety-seven  votes,1  and  Rockingham 
had  no  better  fortune  when,  a  fortnight  later,  he  intro- 
duced the  same  motion  into  the  upper  house,  supported 
though  he  was  by  Chatham  who,  in  the  course  of  his 
speech,  made  such  a  pointed  reference  to  the  truth 
and  sincerity  of  the  late  king  as  to  suggest  that  he  was 
rather  at  a  loss  to  detect  these  virtues  in  the  present 
occupant  of  the  throne.2 

Nor  were  the  ministers  content  with  standing 
upon  the  defensive,  merely  repulsing  the  attacks  of 
the  opposition  :  assured  of  their  own  strength,  they 
were  now  prepared  to  carry  the  war  into  the  enemy's 
camp,  and  they  did  not  have  to  wait  long  for  a  fitting 


it  off,  but  the  Duke  of  Richmond  lays  in  his  claim  never  to  do  it  again,  which 
I  do  not  understand  to  be  agreed  to  as  a  general  proposition,  though  it  will 
be  hard  to  procure  their  assent  to  a  further  delay  than  Wednesday  sennight 
for  this  question.  .  .  .  This  event,  I  am  satisfyed,  has  proved  very  mortifying, 
but  really  they  presume  too  far,  and  occasional  checks  must  be  given."  Pitt 
Papers,  R.O.,  February  18th,  ist  series,  v©l  lxii.  See  also  Rockingham  to 
Temple,  February  18th,  ibid.,  and  Chatham  Correspondence,  3,  419-423. 

1  Pari.  Hist.,  xvi.,  843  ff.  ;    Cavendish  Debates,  1,  475  ff. 

8  Pari.  Hist.,  xvi.,  849  ff. ;  Grenville  Papers,  4,  508  ff.  Rockingham 
Memoirs,  2,  168-169. 


THE  UNITED  OPPOSITION  343 

occasion.  On  Wednesday,  March  14th,  Beckford, 
the  lord  mayor,  accompanied  by  the  sheriffs,  had 
waited  upon  the  king  with  a  remonstrance  which,  as 
addressed  to  the  throne,  may  fairly  enough  be  termed 
insolent  and  dictatorial.  Though  styled  "  the  humble 
address,  of  the  city  of  London,  in  Common  Hall 
assembled,"  it  was  anything  but  humble,  and  more  of 
an  ultimatum  than  an  address.  "  May  it  please  your 
majesty,"  it  began,  "  we  have  already,  in  our  petition, 
dutifully  represented  to  your  majesty  the  chief  injuries 
we  have  sustained.  We  are  unwilling  to  believe  that 
your  majesty  can  slight  the  desires  of  your  people,  or 
be  regardless  of  their  affection,  and  deaf  to  their  com- 
plaints :  yet  their  complaints  remain  unanswered,  their 
injuries  are  confirmed,  and  the  only  judge  removeable 
at  the  pleasure  of  the  crown  has  been  dismissed  from 
his  high  office,  for  defending  in  parliament  the  laws  and 
the  constitution."  After  this  minatory  preamble  the 
remonstrance  proceeded  to  rehearse  the  grievances 
under  which  the  people  suffered,  to  declare  that  in 
depriving  the  electors  of  Middlesex  of  their  just  rights, 
the  house  of  commons  had  been  guilty  of  an  illegality 
'  more  ruinous  in  its  consequences  than  the  levying 
of  ship-money  by  Charles  the  First,  or  the  dispensing 
power  assumed  by  James  the  Second,"  and,  to  implore 
the  king,  in  order  that  these  wrongs  might  be  redressed, 
to  dissolve  his  parliament,  and  to  dismiss  his  evil 
advisers.1 

Such  uncourtly  language  and  such  unfortunate 
historical  parallels  were  not  likely  to  be  pleasing  to 
any  sovereign,  and  least  of  all  to  the  one  to  whom 
they  were  addressed  ;  and,  if  those  responsible  for 
the  wording  of  the  remonstrance  thought  to  intimi- 
date the  king  by  scantily-draped  threats,  they  clearly 

1  Cavendish  Debates,  i,  517-518. 


344     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

showed  that  they  did  not  understand  the  man  with 
whom  they  were  dealing.  It  is  at  these  moments  of 
his  career  that  George  III.  commands  respect  by 
his  resolute  bearing  ;  and  in  his  short  answer  to  the 
remonstrance,  he  flung  back  the  defiance  which  had 
been  offered  him.  Calmly  declaring  that  he  had  always 
made  the  law  of  the  land  the  rule  of  his  conduct,  a 
statement  all  the  more  startling  because  it  was 
absolutely  sincere,  he  expressed  his  regret  that  any 
of  his  subjects  should  have  been  so  misled  as  to 
offer  a  remonstrance  which  "  I  cannot  but  con- 
sider as  disrespectful  to  me,  injurious  to  my  parlia- 
ment, and  irreconcileable  to  the  principles  of  the 
constitution."  1 

It  was  this  affront  to  the  royal  dignity  that  the 
ministers  determined  to  bring  to  the  notice  of  the 
house  of  commons,  thus  indirectly  attacking  the 
parliamentary  opposition  ;  and  in  so  deciding  it  seems 
that  they  were  not  guilty  of  any  rash  or  precipitate 
action.  On  the  contrary,  they  deserve  commendation 
for  an  adroit  stroke  of  policy,  designed  far  more  to 
embarrass  their  enemies  than  to  defend  the  king's 
honour.  It  must  have  been  a  matter  of  fairly  common 
knowledge  that  Chatham,  inasmuch  as  he  was  known 
to  be  a  personal  friend  of  the  lord  mayor,  extending  to 
him  a  confidence  which  few  shared,  approved  of  the 
remonstrance  ;  and  it  might  also  be  fairly  anticipated 
that  neither  Rockingham  nor  his  friends  viewed  with 
pleasure  or  approbation  such  an  obvious  attempt  to 
subject  parliament  and  the  crown  to  the  pressure  of 
a  mob.  Thus,  by  a  weapon  taken  out  of  the  enemy's 
armoury,  the  ministry  might  destroy  the  alliance 
which  at  one  time  seemed  so  threatening,  and  at  all 
times   could  not   fail  to  be  dangerous  ;    and  it  was 

1  Cavendish  Debates,  i,  517-518. 


THE  UNITED  OPPOSITION  345 

probably  in  this  hope  *  that  on  Thursday,  March 
15th,  Sir  Thomas  Clavering  was  instructed  2  to  move 
for  copies  of  the  remonstrance  and  the  king's  answer 
to  be  laid  before  the  house.  The  success  was  even 
greater  than  probably  the  ministers  had  anticipated, 
the  address  being  carried  by  the  very  substantial 
majority  of  one  hundred  and  sixty-three ;  "a  vast 
majority,"  wrote  Walpole  to  a  friend,  "  in  the  present 
circumstances,  and  composed  of  .  .  .  many  who  aban- 
doned the  opposition."  3  Nor  is  it  difficult  to  perceive 
the  cause  of  this  notable  defection,  for  few  speakers 
on  the  opposition  benches  were  sufficiently  indifferent 
to  a  reputation  for  moderation,  to  defend  a  remon- 
strance which  certainly  had  not  failed  in  the  matter 
of  plain  speaking.  The  lord  mayor  and  the  two  sheriffs, 
Townshend  and  Sawbridge,  having  already  deeply 
committed  themselves,  naturally  enough  did  not 
scruple  to  avow  their  full  responsibility  for  the  offending 
document,  and  their  pride  in  their  achievement  ; 
but  the  majority  of  the  members,  with  more  to 
lose,  maintained  an  attitude  of  greater  caution  and 
reserve.  Thus  Wedderburn,  who  was  certainly  never 
afraid  of  either  giving  or  receiving  hard  words,  confined 
himself,  for  the  most  part,  to  a  defence  of  the  undoubted 
right  of  the  subject  to  petition  ;  and  Grenville  warned 
his  hearers  to  take  example  by  what  had  happened 
in  the  case  of  Wilkes,  and  to  refrain  from  entering 
into  a  contest  with  the  city  of  London  from  which  they 

1 "  Every  temptation  is,  or  will  be,  forthwith,  held  out  to  Lord  Rockingham , ' ' 
wrote  one  of  Lord  Chatham's  correspondents,  two  days  before  the  debate. 
Chatham  Correspondence,  3,  423-427. 

2  Sir  Thomas  Clavering  had  the  reputation  of  being  unconnected  with  any 
party  ;  but,  as  Walpole  points  out,  "  the  gentleman's  independence  was  a 
little  sullied  by  the  command  of  Languard  Fort  being  .  .  .  conferred  on  his 
brother  Colonel  Clavering,  a  meritorious  officer,  to  whom  it  had  been  promised, 
but  which  made  the  connection  of  the  elder  brother  with  the  court  ob- 
served." Walpole's  Memoirs,  iv.,  70. 

3  Walpole's  Letters,  7,  369-372. 


346     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

might  well  find  it  difficult  to  emerge  with  dignity. 
But  the  greatest  caution,  as  had  been  anticipated,  was 
displayed  by  the  Rockingham  whigs.  Though  Burke 
both  spoke  and  voted  against  Clavering's  motion,  he 
was  careful  to  state  that,  in  so  doing,  he  did  not  commit 
himself  to  a  belief  in  the  decency  of  the  remonstrance  ; 
and  much  the  same  line  was  taken  by  Lord  John 
Cavendish,  a  member  of  the  same  party.  Discouraged 
by  such  a  half-hearted  defence,  it  is  not  surprising 
that  the  opposition  suffered  a  numerical  declension  ; 
and,  a  few  days  later,  events  followed  much  the  same 
course  when,  the  papers  having  been  laid  before  the 
house  in  the  interval,  a  resolution  condemning  the 
remonstrance,  and  a  loyal  address  to  the  crown,  were 
proposed,  both  being  carried  by  large  majorities.1 

The  ministers  therefore  had  triumphed,  but  if  they 
thought  that  they  had  done  all  they  had  set  out  to  do, 
they  were  guilty  of  a  mistake.  Though  they  had  been 
victorious  in  parliament,  and  made  a  demonstration 
of  strength,  they  had  not  succeeded  in  dividing  the 
opposition.  It  is  true  that  the  politicians  of  the 
city  were  deeply  disgusted  at  the  poor  show  their 
remonstrance  had  made  in  the  house  of  commons, 
and  attributed  the  blame  to  the  Rockingham  party  ; 2 
but  Chatham  was  not  to  be  separated  from  allies 
whom  he  still  regarded  as  indispensable  to  the  success 
of  his  designs.  Experience  had  taught  him  to  rate 
political  union  at  a  higher  value  than  formerly;  and, 
though  probably  aggrieved  by  what  had  happened, 
he  perceived  that  for  the  opposition  to  quarrel  would 
be  to  play  the  ministerial  game.  Thus,  when  he 
heard  that  some  of  his  friends,  and  among  them  Lord 

1  Cavendish  Debates,  i,  516  ff.  ;  Pari.  Hist.,  xvi.,  874  ff.  ;  Walpole's 
Memoirs,  4,  68  ff. ;  Walpole's  Letters,  7,  369-372  ;  Hist.  MSS.  Comm.  Weston 
Underwood  MSS.,   422. 

2  Chatham  Correspondence,  3,  438-439. 


THE  UNITED  OPPOSITION  347 

Shelburne,  were  beginning  to  think  of  the  Rockingham 
whigs  as  false  allies,  he  was  emphatic  in  the  expression 
of  his  desire  for  union  and  harmony  to  continue.  '  I 
am  a  stranger  to  any  particular  incident  at  Lord 
Shelburne's,"  he  wrote  to  John  Calcraft,  "  not  being 
supplied  with  over-much  communication.  I  deeply 
lament  any  tendency  towards  jealousies  or  animosities 
between  different  parts  of  the  combined  forces,  who 
stand  for  the  public,  and  upon  the  maintenance  of  whose 
union  all  hope  of  good  depends.  If  that  transcendent 
and  indispensable  object  shall  be  thrown  away,  I 
shall  esteem  nothing  worth  pursuing  with  a  moment's 
thought.  .  .  .  May  a  temper  of  more  manly  wisdom, 
and  some  public-spirited  candour  and  indulgence 
prevail  amongst  those  who  happen  to  differ  in  par- 
ticular points,  than  that  which  seemed  just  bursting 
forth.  As  for  Lord  Rockingham,  I  have  a  firm  reliance 
on  his  zeal  for  liberty,  and  will  not  separate  from 
him."  J 

Thus,  in  a  truly  statesmanlike  spirit  did  Chatham 
speak,  averting  by  wise  counsel  the  catastrophe  for 
which  the  court  had  schemed  ;  but  the  fact  that  his 
intervention  was  necessary  testifies  to  the  reality  of 
the  danger.  North,  indeed,  had  been  successful  both 
in  defence  and  offence,  and  these  operations  had  not 
exhausted  his  activity  ;  for,  while  thus  engaged,  he 
had  carried,  in  accordance  with  the  decision  arrived 
at  by  the  cabinet  in  the  previous  year,  the  repeal  of 
Townshend's  revenue  act,  with  the  exception  of  the 
tax  upon  tea  which  was  retained  as  an  assertion  of 
England's  right  to  levy  impositions  upon  the  colonies 
for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  a -revenue.  If  North  had 
failed  in  this  part  of  his  task  it  would  indeed  have  been 
a  boon  to  the  country  ;   but  it  was  probably  the  easiest 

1  Chatham  Correspondence,  3,  438-439. 


348     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

part  of  his  achievement,  for  it  was  extremely  difficult 
for  the  opposition  to  make  any  effective  resistance. 
An  amendment  for  the  total  repeal  of  the  act  was, 
indeed,  introduced  ;  but  it  only  served  to  illustrate 
the  difference  of  opinion  existing  in  the  ranks  of  the 
opponents  of  the  government.  Grenville,  who  refused 
to  believe  that  a  partial  repeal  would  satisfy  the 
Americans,  or  that  a  total  repeal  was  anything  but  an 
unworthy  concession  to  rebellion,  declined  to  vote  ; 
and  though  Wedderburn  supported  the  amendment 
on  the  ground  that  the  "  duties  contended  for  are  not 
worth  a  single  debate,"  he  angrily  denounced  the 
doctrine  advanced  by  one  speaker  that,  though 
England  had  an  undoubted  right  to  levy  taxes  upon 
the  colonies,  she  ought  never  to  exercise  it.  "  What, 
sir,"  he  scornfully  declared,  "  declare  that  you  have 
a  right,  and  at  the  same  time  declare  that  the  exercise 
of  it  would  be  impolitic  and  unjust."  In  denouncing 
such  a  position  as  illogical,  Wedderburn  was  un- 
doubtedly right  ;  but,  unfortunately  in  so  doing, 
he  was  obliged  to  bear  hardly  upon  his  allies,  the 
Rockingham  whigs.  For,  having  passed  the  declar- 
atory act  when  in  power,  they  could  not  deny  the 
abstract  right  of  parliament  to  tax  the  colonies  ;  and 
it  was  by  no  means  easy  for  them  to  show  that,  though 
the  right  existed,  it  was  inexpedient  to  exercise  it. 
Thus,  when  Sir  William  Meredith  contended  that  the 
existence  of  the  declaratory  act  dispensed  with  the 
necessity  of  retaining  the  tax  upon  tea,  the  argument 
was  hardly  convincing  since  there  is  a  world  of  differ- 
ence between  theory  and  practice  ;  and  though  it  has 
been  said  that  "  notwithstanding  all  the  weight  of 
ministerial  influence,  the  majority  was  only  sixty-two 
for    continuing    the    whole    act,"  *     the    assumption, 

1  Cavendish  Debates,  i,  500,  note  1. 


THE  UNITED  OPPOSITION  349 

underlying  this  remark,  that  it  was  only  with  difficulty 
that  the  administration  gained  the  day,  is  certainly 
not  justified,  a  majority  of  that  size  being  very  little 
below  the  ministerial  average  for  the  session.  Indeed, 
North  could  fairly  claim  that  he  had  been  assisted  to 
victory  by  being  more  consistent  than  his  critics  ; 
but,  if  the  force  of  logic  was  with  him,  the  strength 
of  wisdom  was  with  them.  Though  unable  to  make 
points  in  argument,  and  open  to  the  charge  of  in- 
consistency, they  at  least  understood  that  the  most 
ardent  spirits  among  the  colonials  were  not  to  be 
logic-driven  into  submission,  and  were  determined 
not  to  forego  the  Englishman's  privilege  of  not  having 
his  money  taken  out  of  his  pocket  without  his  own 
consent.  Moreover,  the  belief  in  the  futility  of  a 
partial  repeal  seems  to  have  been  shared  by  some 
who  supported  North's  bill,  to  judge  by  the  remark 
of  one  adherent  of  the  government  who  confessed 
that  "  there  is  little  reason,  I  fear,  to  expect  that  it 
will  satisfy  the  Americans  :  so  long  as  they  deny 
the  authority  of  parliament  to  tax  them  at  all,  they 
will  say  their  burthen  is  indeed  lightened,  but  that 
their  grievance  remains,  while  a  single  farthing  is 
imposed  on  them  by  that  authority."  * 

Successful  as  North  had  been  by  the  time  that 
parliament  rose  for  the  Easter  recess,  it  would  be 
untrue  to  imagine  that  his  triumphal  progress  had 
been  unchecked  ;  for  he  had  indeed  suffered  one  mis- 
adventure which,  less  skilfully  handled,  might  have 
been  converted  into  a  serious  catastrophe.  Convinced 
by  a  long  and  intimate  acquaintance  with  parliament, 
and  by  a  very  recent  experience,  that  the  most  crying 
abuse  of  the  age  was  the  trial  of  election  petitions  by 

1  Hist.   MSS.   Comm.   Weston   Underwood   MSS.,   420-421  ;     Pari.   Hist., 
xvi.,  852  ff.  ;    Cavendish  Debates,  1,  483  ff.  ;    Walpole's  Memoirs,  4,  63-64. 


350     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

the  house  of  commons,  George  Grenville  introduced 
a  bill  by  which  the  exercise  of  this  right  was  transferred 
from  the  whole  body  to  a  select  committee  which  was 
to  be  authorised  to  hear  evidence  given  upon  oath. 
Every  impartial  man  was  bound  to  admit  that  the 
reform  was  in  the  interests  of  justice  and  impartiality, 
the  house  of  commons  having  clearly  shown  itself 
unfit  to  continue  to  enjoy  a  privilege  which  it  had 
consistently  abused  from  the  time  that  a  seat  in 
parliament  became  a  coveted  honour.  As  is  well 
known,  the  trials  of  election  petitions  had  for  long  been 
conducted  without  any  reference  to  impartiality  or 
fairness,  being  merely  considered  as  tests  of  party 
strength  ;  and  the  scandal  of  the  Middlesex  election 
was  but  one  of  a  long  series  of  similar,  though  less 
flagrant,  instances  of  the  assertion  of  might  over  right. 
Thus  Grenville's  measure  was  designed  to  remedy  a 
crying  evil ;  and  it  might  be  thought  that  the  ad- 
vantages, which  would  ensue  from  it,  were  so  abundantly 
clear  as  to  render  any  opposition  to  it  impossible. 
But  such  was  not  the  case.  With  consciences  dulled 
by  habit,  many  men  failed  to  see  the  iniquity  of  a 
system  to  which  they  had  long  been  accustomed ; 
and  neither  the  court  nor  the  ministers  were  likely 
to  favour  a  reform  which,  whatever  its  abstract  value, 
could  not  fail  to  circumscribe  their  influence.  Thus, 
though  supported  by  all  the  parties  in  opposition, 
Grenville  was  not  by  any  means  able  to  count  upon  an 
easy  victory  ;  and  his  bill  did  not  pass  unchallenged 
through  the  lower  house.  Hardened  placemen  like 
Rigby  and  Dyson,  who  never  shocked  their  con- 
temporaries except  when  they  pretended  to  be  honest, 
were  inveterate  in  their  opposition,  and  North  quite 
frankly  and  honestly  avowed  his  dislike  of  the  change. 
But  the  scandal,  which  the  bill  sought  to  remedy,  was  so 


THE  UNITED  OPPOSITION  351 

glaring  and  disgraceful  that  the  conscience  of  the 
house  was  touched  ;  and  even  trusty  and  habitual 
supporters  of  the  ministry  began  to  desert  their  colours 
on  the  plea  that  they  could  not  vote  against  their 
convictions.  When  Sir  William  Bagot  announced 
his  intention  of  supporting  the  bill,  he  spoke  for  a  good 
many  of  the  country  gentlemen  ;  and  when  it  was 
proposed  to  adjourn  the  consideration  of  the  measure 
for  two  months,  the  motion  was  rejected  by  sixty-two 
votes.  A  less  adroit  party-leader  than  North  might 
at  this  critical  juncture  have  made  a  fatal  blunder, 
and,  by  continuing  his  resistance  to  the  bill,  given  the 
opposition  the  very  triumph  which  they  sought. 
Having  the  wisdom,  however,  to  perceive  that  he  could 
not  carry  his  majority  with  him,  and  acting  like  the 
experienced  commander  who  declines  to  give  battle 
when  the  enemy  has  taken  up  an  impregnable  position, 
he  withdrew  from  the  attack,1  and  allowed  the  bill 
to  become  law  without  any  further  serious  opposition.2 
Thus,  by  skilfully  changing  his  tactics  in  the  middle 
of  the  struggle,  North  had  averted  disaster,  and  could 
retire  to  enjoy  the  Easter  holidays  with  the  comfort- 
able assurance  that  the  most  difficult  part  of  his  work 
was  over.  The  session,  indeed,  was  not  yet  ended,  but, 
as  far  as  it  had  gone,  he  had  outwitted  the  opposition, 
repaired  the  evil  which  Grafton  had  wrought,  and  freed 

1  "  My  brother's  bill,"  wrote  Temple  to  Lord  Chatham  on  April  2nd,  "  is 
this  day  passed  in  the  house  of  commons ;  the  court  having  given  up  the 
design  of  opposing  it  on  the  third  reading,  which  they  fully  intended,  as  it 
was  said  yesterday."     Chatham  Correspondence,  3,  439-440.     See  also  Pari. 

Hist.,  xvi.,  923-924- 

2  "  I  made  a  shift,  however,"  wrote  Temple  to  Lady  Chatham  on  April 
3rd,  "to  go  to  the  house,  and  get  a  first  reading  to  our  favourite  bill.  It 
is  to  be  read  a  second  time  on  Thursday  ;  all  thoughts  of  opposition  to  it 
are  entirely  vanished,  so  that  I  would  not  by  any  means  have  my  lord's  zeal 
and  kindness  make  him  so  much  as  think  of  setting  his  foot  amongst  us." 
Pitt  Papers,  R.O.,  1st  series,  vol.  lxii.  See  also  Grenville  Papers,  4,  515-516. 
For  a  general  account  of  the_ parliamentary  debates  see  Pari.  Hist.,  xvi.,  902- 
904,  907-924  ;   Cavendish  Debates,  1,  475  ff.,  505  ff. 


352     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

the  king  from  the  harassing  anxiety  which  had  weighed 
upon  him  at  the  beginning  of  the  year.  But,  if  North 
had  ample  cause  for  self-congratulation,  his  opponents, 
on  the  contrary,  needed  no  little  ingenuity  to  discover 
any  source  of  consolation.  The  most  sanguine  of 
them  could  not  but  acknowledge  that  their  hopes 
had  been  blasted,  and  their  efforts  frustrated  ;  and  the 
Duke  of  Richmond  was  probably  not  alone  in  thinking 
that  it  was  vain  to  continue  struggling  after  the  tide 
of  fortune  had  turned  so  decisively  against  them. 
Having  withdrawn  into  the  country,  and  disheartened 
by  what  had  happened,  Richmond  began  to  grudge 
the  necessity  of  returning  to  London  after  the  Easter 
holidays  were  over,  informing  Rockingham  of  his 
suspicion  that  they  "  would  all  think  it  best  to  give 
over  opposition  for  this  year,  as  many  people  will  be, 
like  myself,  very  unwilling  to  go  to  town,  nay  more  so, 
for  I  am  persuaded  that  many  good  friends  will  not 
attend."  *  Such  a  suggestion  sprang  from  no  craven 
spirit,  but  from  a  natural  weariness  of  a  vain  ex- 
penditure of  energy  ;  and  if  there  was  an  inclination 
towards  despair  in  the  ranks  of  the  opposition,  it  is 
hardly  surprising.  But  there  was  one .  man  at  least 
who  was  convinced  that  the  hour  had  not  yet  come  to 
refrain  from  denouncing  the  government,  and  that 
man  was  Chatham.  A  policy  of  surrender,  of  tame 
acquiescence  in  accomplished  events,  had  never  been 
part  of  his  political  creed  ;  and  he  was  resolved,  though 
success  might  be  out  of  the  question,  never  to  relax 
in  his  attack  upon  the  ministry.  A  great  wrong 
having  been  committed,  there  was  to  be  no  rest  until 
reparation  had  been  made,  and  a  stain  removed  from 
the  annals  of  parliament.  Never  before,  save  at  the 
outset  of  his  political  career,  had   Chatham  been  so 

1  Rockingham  Memoirs,  2,  177-179. 


THE  UNITED  OPPOSITION  353 

active  in  opposition  ;  and  contemporaries,  whose 
memories  did  not  go  back  to  the  days  of  Walpole  and 
the  war  of  Jenkins'  ear,  were  astonished  to  find  him 
playing  what  they  thought  to  be  such  an  uncongenial 
and  unaccustomed  role.1 

Thus  it  was  Chatham  who  infused  courage  into 
the  faint  hearts  of  his  allies,  and  decided  that  the  fight 
must  continue  ;  and  that  he  was  right  is  beyond  all 
doubt.  An  opposition  which  abandons  the  contest 
confesses  to  abject  failure,  and  suffers  a  far  severer 
loss  of  dignity  and  prestige  than  any  defeat,  however 
humiliating,  can  inflict  upon  it.  This  is  axiomatic  ; 
but  skill  was  needed  as  well  as  courage,  and,  if  the 
campaign  was  to  continue,  it  was  necessary  to 
determine  the  method  of  attack.  It  was  here  that 
the  difficulty  came.  The  experience  of  the  past  two 
months  had  shown  that  the  possibilities  of  the  Middlesex 
election,  as  a  political  cry  against  the  government,  were 
fully  exhausted  ;  and  yet  no  new  cry  was  at  hand. 
If  the  parliamentary  warfare  was  not  to  cease,  there 
was  nothing  to  be  done  but  to  prolong  the  discussion 
of  a  topic  of  which  most  men  were  thoroughly  weary  ; 
and  easy  though  it  is  to  blame  the  opposition  for  a 
lack  of  resource,  the  existence  of  any  alternative 
course  is  certainly  not  obvious.  If  the  country  was 
weary  of  the  Middlesex  election,  it  was  frankly  in- 
different to  all  other  possible  political  questions  of 
the  day  ;  and  thus  the  opposition  had  either  to  repeat 
what  already  had  been  said,  or  to  say  what  nobody 
wanted  to  hear.  The  former  alternative  was  chosen 
and  proved  a  failure,  but  it  is  by  no  means  certain 
that  any  other  policy  would  have  been  less  disastrous. 

1  "  Lord  Chatham  continued,  for  two  months  together  in  a  more  active 
opposition  to  the  ministry  than  I  had  ever  known  in  his  lordship." 
Grafton's  Autobiography,  p.  252. 

Z 


354     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

Driven  between  the  horns  of  a  dilemma,  the  opponents 
of  the  court  were  in  a  situation  which  could  hardly 
be  more  unfavourable  ;  and  it  may  fairly  be  urged  in 
their  defence  that,  in  continuing  to  thunder  against 
the  past  illegalities  of  the  government,  they  were 
not  sinning  against  their  own  sincere  convictions. 
They,  at  least,  rallied  to  a  fight  on  behalf  of  a  cause  in 
which  they  believed. 

Before  parliament  had  risen  for  the  Easter  recess, 
Chatham  had  given  notice  of  his  intention  to  introduce 
a  bill  reversing  the  proceedings  of  the  house  of  commons 
upon  the  Middlesex  election  ;  J  and,  after  the  holidays 
were  over,  he  lost  no  time  in  fulfilling  his  pledge. 
During  the  last  days  of  April  he  was  in  active  corre- 
spondence with  Rockingham,  and  a  draft  of  the  bill 
having  been  approved  at  a  meeting  of  the  whig  lords 
on  Sunday,  April  29th,2  Chatham  introduced  it  into 
the  house  of  lords  on  Tuesday,  May  1st.  The  expecta- 
tion of  victory  had,  of  course,  been  absent  from  the 
first,  but  the  opposition  had  reason  to  be  disappointed 
with  the  results  of  the  venture.  A  motion,  appointing 
the  bill  to  be  read  a  second  time,  was  easily  defeated 
by  the  ministry,  only  forty-three  peers  being  rallied 
in  support  of  it  ;  and  against  Camden,  who  spoke 
on  behalf  of  the  bill,  the  court  put  up  Lord  Mansfield 
whose  legal  reputation  was  at  least  equal  to  that  of 
the  ex-lord  chancellor.3  Yet,  great  as  the  rebuff  was, 
Chatham  does  not  appear  to  have  been  unduly  cast 
down,  for,  three  days  later,  he  brought  forward  a  motion 
condemning  the  royal  answer  to  the  city  remonstrance 
as  a  direct  and  flagrant  contradiction  to  "  the  clearest 

1  Pari.  Hist.,  xvi.  924. 

2  Chatham  Correspondence,  3,  445-449  ;  Rockingham  Memoirs,  2,  174- 
177  ;  Lord  Rockingham  to  Chatham,  April  29th,  1770,  Pitt  Papers,  R.O., 
1st  series,  vol.  liv. 

3  Pari.  Hist.,  xvi.  954  ff.     Walpole's  Memoirs,  4,  81. 


THE  UNITED  OPPOSITION  355 

rights  of  the  subject,  namely,  to  petition  the  king  for 
redress  of  grievances  ;  to  complain  of  violation  of 
the  freedom  of  election ;  to  pray  dissolution  of 
parliament  ;  to  point  out  malpractices  in  adminis- 
tration ;  and  to  urge  the  removal  of  evil  ministers." 
This  minatory  resolution,  however,  supported  though 
it  was,  like  the  bill  which  had  preceded  it,  by  all  sections 
of  the  opposition,  encountered  no  happier  fate,  being 
defeated  by  a  slightly  larger  majority.1 

These  onslaughts  upon  the  government  may  well 
have  been  inevitable,  but  it  is  undeniable  that  they 
served  to  illustrate  the  ineffectiveness  of  the  opposition 
and  the  growing  strength  of  the  administration. 
However  gallantly  a  party  may  struggle,  it  is  not  likely 
to  win  recruits  by  revealing  the  diminution  in  its 
strength,  for  the  scripture  maxim  that  "  to  him  who 
hath  shall  be  given  "  is  as  true  in  politics  as  elsewhere. 
But,  great  as  was  the  disappointment,  consolation 
was  not  entirely  absent,  for,  in  spite  of  certain  difficulties 
and  a  real  divergence  of  opinion  upon  particular 
questions,  the  opposition  had,  at  least,  preserved 
internal  harmony.  If  that  was  destroyed,  if  Chatham 
or  Grenville  quarrelled  with  Rockingham,  and  the 
leaders  of  the  different  parties,  breaking  apart  from 
one  another,  fought  as  rival  tribal  chieftains,  then, 
indeed,  the  last  state  of  the  opposition  would  be  worse 
than  the  first,  and  a  crowning  mercy  be  vouchsafed 
to  the  court.  And  towards  the  close  of  the  session 
it  appeared  not  improbable  that  the  work  of  destruc- 
tion would  be  completed  by  this  crushing  and  final 
disaster.  Though  fully  aware  of  the  dangers  which 
beset  such  a  course,  Chatham  was  determined,  before 
the  session  came  to  an  end,  to  propose  an  address  to 

1  Pari.  Hist.,  xvi.  966  ff.     Hist.  Comm.  MSS.  Weston  Underwood  MSS., 
423-424. 


356     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

the  crown  praying  for  the  dissolution  of  parliament. 
In  so  doing  he  would  undoubtedly  be  playing  into  the 
hands  of  the  more  extreme  politicians  in  the  city  and 
elsewhere,  who  asserted  that,  by  the  exclusion  of 
Wilkes  and  the  intrusion  of  Luttrell,  the  house  of 
commons  had  destroyed  its  legal  position,  and  forfeited 
all  claim  to  the  respect  and  even  to  the  obedience  of 
the  nation  ;  but  it  is  wrong  to  assume  that  Chatham 
was  merely  playing  the  demagogue.  It  is  far  more 
reasonable  to  believe  that  he  was  influenced  by  sincere 
conviction,  and  conscientiously  believed  that  only 
by  a  new  parliament,  untainted  with  illegality,  could 
the  evils  of  the  state  be  redressed.  '  I  could  never," 
he  emphatically  declared  about  this  time,  "  in  any 
case  wish  a  friend  of  mine  to  go  into  the  king's  service, 
unless  a  new  parliament  was  called,  it  being  in  my 
sense  an  illusion,  little  short  of  infatuation,  to  imagine 
that  this  house  of  commons,  the  violators  of  the  people's 
rights,  would  ever  become  the  safe  instrument  of  a 
system  of  administration  founded  on  the  reparation 
of  the  violations,  and  on  a  total  extinction  of  the 
influence  which  caused  them."1 

In  accordance  with  this  opinion,  so  strongly  ex- 
pressed, Chatham  was  determined  upon  an  address 
for  dissolution,  and  would  have  taken  this  step  earlier 
in  the  session  had  he  not  feared  the  opposition  of 
Rockingham  and  his  followers.2  Though  apparently 
as  convinced  as  Chatham  that  a  new  parliament  ought 
to  be  called,  the  Rockingham  whigs  were  fearful  that 
if  they  supported  such  an  address  as  Chatham  proposed, 
they  might  identify  themselves,  too  closely  for  their 
comfort,  with  the  democratic  party  ;  and  their  alarm 
was  increased  by  Chatham's  declaration  that  "  a  surmise 
more  than  begins  to  spread,  that  zeal  for  this  indis- 

1  Rockingham  Memoirs,  2,  180-182.  2  Ibid. 


THE  UNITED  OPPOSITION  357 

pensable  measure  is  slackening  every  hour  "  and  that 
he  knew  "of  no  adequate  means  to  prevent  the  fatal 
effects  of  such  an  umbrage  taking  possession  of  the 
public,  but  a  motion  of  dissolution  in  the  house  of 
lords."  *  By  these  remarks  a  weight  was  attached 
to  public  opinion  which  Rockingham  was  unable  to 
admit,  and  in  his  answer  he  clearly  implied  that,  though 
Chatham  might  submit  to  popular  pressure,  he  himself 
was  not  to  be  mob-driven.  "  I  cannot  just  now," 
he  wrote,  '  recollect  my  thoughts  so  fully  as  to  be 
able  to  write  to  your  lordship  a  decisive  opinion  on  the 
subject  of  the  letter  I  had  the  honour  to  receive  from 
you.  As  yet  I  have  not  seen  the  Duke  of  Richmond, 
the  Duke  of  Portland,  and  some  other  lords  whom  I 
wish  much  to  talk  with  on  the  matter.  From  some 
information  I  have,  I  should  doubt  whether  in  general, 
among  the  lords  in  opposition,  an  address  for  the 
dissolution  of  parliament  would  be  a  measure  which 
they  would  incline  to.  It  does  not  strike  me  that  it 
is  particularly  called  for ;  because  I  cannot  admit 
that,  though  some  people  may  throw  out  suspicions 
or  reflections  that  there  is  lukewarmness,  or  that  we 
or  others  do  not  adhere  to  the  measure  of  dissolution, 
and  various  surmises,  etc.,  yet  I  must  hold  an  opinion, 
that  it  is  neither  for  your  lordship's  honour,  nor  for 
ours,  to  suffer  ourselves  to  be  sworn  every  day  to  keep 
our  word."  2 

From  this  interchange  of  letters  it  is  clear  that 
there  was  a  danger  of  dissension  in  the  opposition 
camp.  Chatham,  as  was  his  wont,  refused  to  abandon 
his  design  in  deference  to  what  he  must  have  thought 
were  the  craven  fears  of  his  allies,  and  bravely  asserted 
the  existence  of  "  arguments  amounting  to  a  political 

1  Rockingham  Memoirs,  2,  180-182. 

2  Chatham  Correspondence,  3,  455-456. 


358    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

demonstration  in  favour  of  the  motion,  .  .  .  upon 
the  supposition  that  dissolution,  universally  liked  or 
not,  is  the  measure  sine  qua  non  ;  "  x  but,  insistent 
though  he  might  be,  he  found  it  no  easy  task  to  convince 
others  of  the  pressing  character  of  the  necessity. 
After  having  conversed  with  Rockingham  and  some 
other  members  of  the  same  party,  Temple  informed  his 
brother-in-law  that  they  were  "  much  averse  to  the 
dissolution  motion,  though  firm  as  to  the  thing,"  and 
expressed  the  opinion  that  "  the  sacrifice  will  be  great 
if  they  yield  to  our  wishes."  -  Critical  as  the  situation 
undeniably  was,  the  peril  was  less  than  it  might  appear 
at  first  sight,  since  all  were  convinced  that  nothing 
could  be  more  disastrous  to  the  cause  they  had  in 
common  than  a  quarrel ;  and  it  is  seldom  that  differences 
cannot  be  settled  when  there  is  a  predisposition  towards 
peace.  Rockingham's  objection  to  the  proposal  was 
sensibly  diminished  on  learning  that  Chatham  was 
more  influenced  by  personal  conviction  than  by 
popular  pressure ; 3  and  the  question  was  finally 
settled  at  a  meeting  held  at  Rockingham's  house  on 
the  evening  of  Sunday,  May  13th.  Although  no 
record  survives  of  this  conference,  what  evidence  we 
have  strongly  points  to  the  fact  that  Chatham  carried 
his    point,    and   secured   the    consent    of   his    allies.4 

1  Rockingham  Memoirs,  2,  183-184. 

2  Temple  to  Chatham,  Friday,  1770;   Pitt  Papers,  R.O.,  1st  series,  vol.  lxii. 

3  "  Your  lordship's  last  letter,  putting  the  matter  on  your  lordship's 
own  opinion  of  the  propriety  of  now  moving  the  address,  is,  I  assure  your 
lordship,  of  much  more  weight  with  me,  and  may  be  with  others,  than  the 
argument  in  the  former  letter,  where  your  lordship,  in  part,  put  it  on  the 
necessity  of  clearing  up  some  doubts  which  some  have  spread  or  attempted 
to  propagate  among  the  public."     Chatham  Correspondence,  3,  456-457. 

4  The  evidence  for  this  belief  is  a  letter  written  by  Chatham  to  Rocking- 
ham on  Monday,  May  14th,  and  which  runs  as  follows  :  "  Lord  Chatham 
presents  his  compliments  to  Lord  Rockingham,  and  hopes  the  following 
words  will  answer  his  lordship's  doubts :  .  .  .  though  Lord  Chatham 
still  thinks  the  other  mode  preferable,  he  defers  with  pleasure  to  Lord 
Rockingham's    wish,    and    concludes    it    will    better    meet    the    Duke    of 


THE  UNITED  OPPOSITION  359 

Having  no  time  to  lose,  for  the  session  was  fast  drawing 
to  a  close,  Chatham  moved  the  address  on  Monday, 
May  14th,  the  day  after  the  meeting  at  Lord 
Rockingham's.  It  would  be  interesting  to  know  how 
far  he  was  supported  by  those  who  had  so  reluctantly 
given  their  consent  to  the  scheme  ;  but,  unfortunately 
for  the  historian,  all  strangers,  with  the  exception 
of  sons  of  peers  and  members  of  the  house  of  commons, 
were  excluded  from  the  debate  ;  and  the  very  meagre 
account  in  the  parliamentary  history  contains  nothing 
but  a  very  brief  summary  of  Chatham's  speech  and 
a  simple  record  of  the  defeat  of  the  motion.1 

Five  days  later,  parliament  was  prorogued  until 
the  following  autumn,  and  North  was  given  time  to 
recover  from  the  strain  of  four  months  of  arduous 
conflict.  By  his  success  he  had  more  than  justified 
his  appointment  ;  and  in  him  George  III.  could  feel 
that  he  had  a  servant  who  might  be  trusted  to  defend 
the  court  to  the  death,  and  yet  never  claim  more 
independent  authority  than  the  crown  was  willing  to 
grant.  Meanwhile  the  opposition  had  nothing  to  look 
back  to  but  a  record  of  consistent  failure  only  re- 
lieved by  the  fact  that  the  alliance  between  the  factions 
had  stood  the  undoubtedly  severe  test  of  an  unsuccessful 
campaign.  Yet  the  continuance  of  this  harmony 
in  the  future  could  not  be  predicted  with  any  certainty  ; 
for  though  Walpole  was  guilty  of  exaggeration  when 
he  informed  a  friend  that  "  disunion  has  appeared 
between  all  parts  of  the  opposition,"  2  he  was  not, 
as  has  been  seen,  very  far  from  the  truth.  It  is  true 
that  hitherto  disruption  had  been  averted  by  the 
existence  of  a  conciliatory  spirit  ;    but  when  allow- 

Richmond's  ideas."  Rockingham  Memoirs,  2,  185.  This  letter,  which  is 
misdated  Wednesday,  May  14th,  obviously  implies  that  an  understanding 
had  been  arrived  at  on  the  Sunday  evening. 

1  Pari.  Hist.,  xvi.  978-979.  2  Walpole's  Letters,  7,  375-377. 


360    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

ance  has  been  made  for  the  frailty  of  human  nature, 
and  the  ease  with  which  misunderstandings  arise,  it 
must  be  admitted  that  no  great  ingenuity  or  perversity 
was  needed  to  provoke  a  quarrel  and  destroy  the  alliance 
It  was  by  no  means  improbable  that  Chatham  might 
throw  in  his  lot  with  the  democratic  section  of 
the  opposition,  and  completely  identify  himself  with 
those  whom  Burke  so  contemptuously  referred  to  as 
the  "  bill  of  rights  people."  1  These  more  extreme 
politicians  clamoured  for  constitutional  remedies  far 
too  searching  and  drastic  to  be  approved  by  what  had 
come  to  be  recognised  as  the  official  whig  opposition  ; 
and  Rockingham  and  his  followers,  thinking  more 
of  restricting  the  influence  of  the  crown  than  of  sub- 
mitting themselves  to  the  power  of  the  people,  were 
certainly  not  prepared  to  listen  favourably  to  the  cry 
for  parliamentary  reform,  the  exclusion  of  placemen 
from  the  house  of  commons,  and  for  triennial  parlia- 
ments. In  their  eyes  such  remedies  were  almost 
worse  than  the  disease  they  were  designed  to  cure, 
since,  damaging  as  they  might  be  to  the  authority 
of  the  crown,  they  would  be  equally  damaging  to  the 
influence  of  the  aristocracy  ;  and  in  his  pamphlet 
'  Thoughts  on  the  cause  of  the  Present  Discontents," 
which  was  published  in  April,  1770,  Edmund  Burke 
gave  an  eloquent  exposition  of  the  political  opinions 
held  by  the  party  of  which  he  was  so  illustrious  a 
member.  In  this  famous  political  tract,  probably 
the  best  known~oT  all  his  writings  with  the  exception 
of  the  more  famous  "  Reflections  on  the  French 
Revolution,"  Burke  said  much  which  might  give 
offence  to  Chatham  as  well  as  to  the  extreme  wing 
of  the  opposition.  Declaring  that  he  had  "  no  sort 
of  reliance  upon   either  a  triennial  parliament,  or  a 

1  Burke's  Correspondence,  i,  228-231. 


THE  UNITED  OPPOSITION  361 

place  bill,"  he  emphasised,  over  and  over  again,  the 
importance  of  party  as  an  indispensable  part  of  the 
machinery  of  government,  and  as  a  panacea  for  all 
the  evils  which  weighed  upon  the  country.  "  Party," 
he  remarked  in  a  passage  which  has  become  hackneyed  ( 
from  frequent  quotation,  "is  a  body  of  men  united, 
for  promoting  by  their  joint  endeavours  the  national 
interest,  upon  some  particular  principle  in  which  they 
are  all  agreed  "  ;  and  in  another  place  he  declared 
that  "  whoever  becomes  a  party  to  an  administration, 
composed  of  insulated  individuals,  without  faith 
plighted,  tie,  or  common  principle  .  .  .  abets  a 
faction  that  is  driving  hard  to  the  ruin  of  his  country. 
He  is  sapping  the  foundations  of  its  liberty,  disturbing 
the  sources  of  its  domestic  tranquillity,  weakening 
its  government  over  its  dependencies,  degrading  it 
from  all  its  importance  in  the  system  of  Europe." 

Burke's  pamphlet  has  been  so  universally  and 
justly  acclaimed  as  a  work  of  genius,  rich  in  political 
philosophy  and  in  the  wisdom  which  observes  eternal 
principles  underlying  ephemeral  events,  that  criticism 
cannot  but  appear  somewhat  misplaced  if  not  audacious ; 
and  yet,  while  allowing  that  the  world  would  have 
been  considerably  the  poorer  if  Burke  had  never  written, 
his  discretion  in  choosing  the  exact  moment  that  he 
did  for  publication  is,  to  say  the  least,  open  to  doubt. 
A  malicious  critic  might  well  contend  that  Burke 
had  no  object  in  thus  giving  his  opinions  to  the  world 
but  to  break  up  the  alliance  between  the  different 
parties  in  opposition  ;  and  although  it  is  in  the  last 
degree  improbable  that  this  was  either  his  intention 
or  desire,  it  nevertheless  is  true  that,  though  fully  aware 
of  the  differences  of  opinion  existing  between  the 
factions  nominally  in  alliance,  and  alive  to  the  fact 
that  Chatham  found  much  to  object  to  in  the  modera- 


362    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

tion  of  Lord  Rockingham,  he  did  nothing  to  spare 
the  susceptibilities  of  allies  whose  assistance,  he  must 
have  known,  was  essential  to  the  success  of  the  cause 
he  had  at  heart.  Chatham  could  not  but  be  offended 
by  the  insistence  upon  the  necessity  of  party,  and  by 
the  reference  to  the  evil  wrought  by  the  man  who 
practised  the  principle  of  "  men  not  measures  "  ;  and 
he  would  be  no  better  pleased  by  the  slur  cast  upon 
the  politicians  who  advocated  drastic  and  extreme 
measures  of  reform.  It  is  true  that  he  had  discouraged 
the  clamour  for  triennial  parliaments,  but  he  had  raised 
the  cry  for  reform  from  his  place  in  the  house  of  lords, 
and  was  hand  in  glove  with  Beckford,  the  leader  of 
the  opposition  party  in  the  city.1  Yet  neither  he  nor 
his  friends  had  been  spared,  and  it  is  to  his  credit, 
both  as  a  man  and  as  a  statesman,  that  he  refused  to 
take  offence  at  what  he  might  well  have  resented  as  an 
]  outrage.  Though,  as  Burke  narrates,  "  the  bill  of 
rights  people  .  .  .  have  thought  proper  at  length  to 
do  us,  I  hope,  a  service  by  declaring  open  war  upon 
all  our  connexion,"  2  Chatham  declined  to  be  respon- 
sible for  civil  strife  in  the  opposition  camp.  "  A  good 
harmony,"  wrote  the  author  of  the  offending  pamphlet, 
"subsists,  at  least  in  appearance,  between  the  capital 
members  of  opposition  "  ; 3  but,  if  this  was  the  case, 
the  credit  was  due  much  less  to  him  than  to  Chatham. 
It  is  true  that,  a  few  months  later,  Chatham,  in  a  letter 
to  Rockingham,  complained  how  "  a  pamphlet  of  last 

1  On  the  occasion  of  the  presentation  of  the  second  remonstrance  of  the 
City  to  the  Crown,  on  May  23rd,  Beckford  violated  all  custom  and  precedent 
by  delivering  a  speech  which  had  not  been  previously  submitted  to  the  king  ; 
and  it  is  worthy  of  note  that  Chatham  waxed  enthusiastic  over  this  breach 
of  very  necessary  etiquette.  ie  declared  that  he  was  rejoiced  "  to  hear 
that  my  lord  mayor  asserted  the  City  with  weight  and  spirit,"  and  told 
Beckford  himself  that  "  the  spirit  of  old  England  spoke,  that  never  to  be 
forgotten  day."     Chatham  Correspondence,  3,  459-460,  462-463. 

2  Burke's  Correspondence,  1,  228-231.  3  Ibid. 


THE  UNITED  OPPOSITION  363 

year,  however  well  intended,  I  find  has  done  much 
hurt  to  the  cause  ;"  l  but  this  seems  to  have  been 
the  only  murmur  that  escaped  his  lips.  Such  restraint 
is  all  the  more  striking  from  not  being  habitual. 

Yet,  content  though  Chatham  might  be  silently 
to  suffer  the  pin-pricks  of  a  man  whom  he  probably 
thought  of  too  little  importance  to  be  taken  into 
serious  consideration,  it  ought  not  to  be  assumed  that 
he  had  no  fault  to  find  with  the  Rockingham  party, 
or  that  he  was  content  to  be  driven  rather  than  to 
lead.  "  Moderation,  moderation,"  he  wrote  at  the  end 
of  July,  "  is  the  burden  of  the  song  among  the  body. 
For  myself,  I  am  resolved  to  be  in  earnest  for  the 
public,  and  shall  be  a  scarecrow  of  violence  to  the 
gentle  warblers  of  the  grove,  the  moderate  whigs  and 
temperate  statesmen."  2  Such  was  not  the  utterance 
of  a  man  who  was  prepared  to  submit  to  dictation  ; 
and  warm  though  he  might  be  in  the  expression  of  his 
personal  approval  of  Rockingham,3  it  is  not  unreason- 
able to  imagine  that  he  found  much  to  lament  in  the 
latter's  course  of  procedure.  It  seemed  to  him  that 
the  interval  between  the  two  parliamentary  sessions 
was  being  wasted,  that  nothing  was  being  done  ;  and 
it  was  with  unfeigned  pleasure  that  he  heard  that 
the  Yorkshire  freeholders  intended  to  draw  up  a 
remonstrance  for  presentation  to  the  crown.  Eagerly 
did    he   wait   the    execution   of    this    design4    which 


1  Rockingham  Memoirs,  2,  193-195.  Twenty-two  years  later  Burke,  on 
discovering  this  letter  among  Rockingham's  papers,  wrote  on  the  back  of  it, 
"  I  remember  to  have  seen  this  knavish  letter  at  the  time.  The  pamphlet 
is  itself,  by  anticipation,  an  answer  to  that  grand  artificer  of  fraud.  .  .  . 
Oh  !  but  this  does  not  derogate  from  his  great,  splendid  side.  God  forbid  !  " 
Whatever  Burke  thought  to  be  Chatham's  "  great  splendid  side,"  we  may 
be  certain  that  it  was  not  the  aspect  which  he  presented  to  the  Rockingham 
Whigs. 

2  Chatham  Correspondence,  3,  469.  3  Ibid. 
*  Ibid.,  3,  471-472. 


364    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

acquired  no  little  importance  from  the  fact  that,  as 
Rockingham's  influence  was  predominant  in  Yorkshire, 
any  political  action  in  that  county  must  be  associated 
with  his  name,  if  not  actually  sanctioned  by  him. 
Through  the  freeholders  of  Yorkshire  Rockingham 
would  speak  ;  and  even  Burke,  with  all  his  prejudice 
against  extreme  measures  and  playing  into  the  hands 
of  the  mob,  was  in  favour  of  the  plan.1  Yet,  in  spite 
of  Chatham's  anxiety  and  Burke's  advice,  the  design 
failed  of  execution  ;  for  when  the  freeholders  met 
on  September  25th,  and  a  remonstrance  was  proposed, 
Sir  George  Savile,  the  member  for  the  county,  and 
Lord  John  Cavendish  preached  the  gospel  of  modera- 
tion and  restraint  so  effectively  that  nothing  was 
done.  That  the  fiasco  was  due  to  Rockingham's 
influence  it  is  almost  impossible  to  doubt  ; 2  and 
Chatham  must  have  been  strengthened  in  the  con- 
viction that  the  only  fruit  of  a  policy  of  moderation 
was  consistent  inaction. 

Thus  the  opposition  did  nothing  but  mark  time, 
a  perilous  exercise  for  those  who,  if  they  do  not  advance, 
must  necessarily  fall  back  ;  and  the  approach  of  the 
parliamentary  session,  which  had  been  fixed  to  begin 
on  November  13th,  must  have  given  Rockingham  and 
his  friends  as  little  pleasure  as  it  gave  the  ministers 
anxiety.  The  opposition  alliance  still  existed,  but 
no  one  could  predict  how  long  it  would  continue,  for 
there  were  already,  as  has  been  seen,  signs  of  approach- 
ing discord.  The  future  was  indeed  dark  and  uncertain, 
and  it  was  at  the  moment  when  the  fate  of  his  country 
and  his  party  was  most  in  doubt  that  George  Grenville 
was  removed  from  the  stage  of  political  life.     For  long 

1  Burke's  Correspondence,  i,  231-243. 

2  Walpole  affirms  that  Rockingham  was  intriguing  with  the  court,  a  state- 
ment which  has  neither  evidence  nor  probability  to  support  it.  Walpole's 
Memoirs,  4,  116- 117. 


THE  UNITED  OPPOSITION  365 

his  health  had  been  failing,  and  his  death,  which  took 
place  on  November  13th,  came  as  a  shock,  but  not 
as  a  surprise,  to  those  who  knew  him.  Mourned 
sincerely  by  his  friends,  and  the  subject  of  an  eloquent 
eulogy  by  Burke,  Grenville  has  been  more  the  victim 
of  censure  than  of  praise,  having  come  down  in  history 
with  a  very  unenviable  reputation.  Condemned  on 
all  sides  :  by  the  admirers  of  Chatham  for  his  inability 
to  appreciate  the  merits  of  his  great  brother-in-law ; 
by  the  whigs  for  his  colonial  policy ;  and  by  the  tories 
for  his  treatment  of  the  king  ;  he  has  incurred  the  wrath 
of  all  parties,  and,  with  few  to  defend,  there  have 
been  many  to  find  fault.  And,  unfortunately  for  him, 
faults  are  not  difficult  to  find,  for  few  statesmen  have 
been  more  unhappy  in  achievement,  or  more  unattrac- 
tive in  character.  By  imposing  the  stamp  act  he  laid 
the  foundation  of  the  quarrel  with  the  American  colonies, 
and  by  arresting  Wilkes  he  converted  a  worthless, 
though  witty,  scribbler  into  a  national  hero.  Moreover, 
these  mistakes  sprang,  not  from  a  temporary  aber- 
ration of  judgment,  but  from  deep-rooted  defects  in 
his  character.  Grenville  was  in  no  wise  fitted  to  be  a 
ruler  of  men  ;  and  though,  if  he  had  practised  at  the 
bar,  it  is  not  unlikely  that  his  name  would  be  quoted 
with  reverence  and  respect,  as  a  statesman  he  was 
doomed  from  the  first  to  fail.  His  legal  cast  of  mind 
and  his  narrowness  of  vision  totally  incapacitated 
him  for  grasping  the  broad  issues  of  the  problems 
which  presented  themselves  for  solution ;  and  he 
thought  to  rule  a  great  country  as  a  schoolmaster  rules 
a  class.  Whether  in  power  or  in  opposition  he  never 
ceased  from  being  the  pedagogue,  desiring  to  enforce 
law  and  to  maintain  discipline.  Thus  Wilkes  must 
be  punished  for  his  libel  upon  the  king,  the  Americans 
coerced   for  their  resistance   to   the   stamp   act,   and 


366    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

the  Rockingham  whigs  censured  and  distrusted  for 
their  acquiescence  in  colonial  rebellion.  There  was 
to  be  no  policy  but  the  enforcement  of  law,  and  no 
object  but  the  maintenance  of  order.  Yet,  unattractive 
as  such  a  conception  of  government,  and  the  man  who 
holds  it,  are,  it  must  be  allowed  that,  if  Grenville  was 
often  objectionable,  he  was  always  consistent.  Un- 
touched by  respect  of  persons  or  considerations  of 
expediency,  he  meted  out  the  same  measure  to  all, 
and  when  the  house  of  commons  violated  the  law,  he 
granted  it  no  more  mercy  than  he  had  shown  to  the 
Americans.  He  was  emphatically  a  man  of  principle, 
and  this  was  no  mean  glory  in  an  age  of  political 
opportunism.  It  is  true  that  such  men  as  he  do  not 
easily  inspire  affection,  for  they  are  apt  to  be  intolerant 
of  differences,  and  destitute  of  any  diplomacy  in 
handling  either  their  friends  or  their  enemies  ;  but 
they  are  not  unworthy  of  the  respect  so  habitually 
denied  them.  It  is  easy  for  dazzling  opportunists 
to  despise  those  who  are  not  brilliant  but  only  sincere, 
and  the  taunt  which  Napoleon  hurled  against  Mounier 
has  been  often  repeated  in  varying  forms  ;  but  virtue, 
even  though  it  is  unattractive,  deserves  recognition  ; 
and  the  tribute  paid  by  Burke  was  the  offering  of  one 
righteous  man  to  another.  In  an  evil  hour  for  his 
fame  Grenville  abandoned  his  ambition  of  becoming 
speaker  of  the  house  of  commons,  an  office  for  which 
he  was  in  every  way  suited  ;  and  both  he  and  the 
nation  have  paid  to  the  full  the  price  of  his  mistake. 
He  was  not  even  happy  in  the  opportunity  of  his  death 
which  was  to  prove  a  crushing  blow  to  the  unity 
of  the  opposition.  When  Lord  George  Sackville,  one 
of  Grenville's  followers,  heard  that  his  leader  was  ill, 
he  significantly  remarked  that  "  if  any  accident  should 
happen  to  him,  it  will  require  very  serious  consideration 


THE  UNITED  OPPOSITION  367 

what  part  we  are  then  to  take  "  ;  and  two  days  later 
he  wrote  to  a  friend,  "  If  poor  Mr  Grenville  dies,  what 
is  to  be  the  object  of  opposition  ?  I  hope  not  to  make 
Lord  Chatham  minister.  If  it  is,  you  cannot  suppose 
I  shall  be  very  sanguine  in  such  a  cause."  x  Such  were 
the  clouds  which  gathered  round  the  bedside  of  the 
dying  statesman. 

1  Hist.  MSS.  Comm.  Stopford  Sackville  MSS.,  i.,  1 31-132. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE   DOWNFALL   OF  THE   OPPOSITION 

It  is  not  improbable  that  when  parliament  was  pro- 
rogued in  May,  1770,  until  the  following  autumn, 
Lord  North  indulged  himself  in  the  pleasant  fancy 
that  he  had  seen  the  worst  of  his  troubles  ;  and  that, 
whatever  the  future  had  in  store,  it  was  hardly  likely 
to  bring  that  incessant  and  harassing  anxiety  which 
had  attended  him  in  the  early  stages  of  his  career  as 
first  minister.  To  all  appearances  the  government 
bark  had  safely  navigated  the  point  of  danger,  and 
passed  into  clear  unruffled  waters.  At  peace  both  at 
home  and  abroad,  the  nation  seemed  about  to  be 
granted  a  welcome  immunity  from  the  unrest  and 
disorder  which  had  so  long  and  so  grievously  disturbed 
it ;  and  no  great  insight  was  needed  to  perceive  that 
Lord  North,  able  to  count  upon  the  most  intimate 
confidence  of  his  sovereign,  and  assured  of  a  majority 
in  both  houses  of  parliament,  was  far  more  firmly 
seated  in  power  than  any  previous  minister  of  the 
reign,  with  the  exception  of  Lord  Bute,  had  been. 
Nor  was  it  only  by  reason  of  the  inherent  strength  of 
his  own  position  that  North  was  justified  in  regarding 
the  future  with  equanimity  ;  he  could,  in  addition, 
count  upon  deriving  no  little  benefit  from  the  very 
probable  decline  in  the  vigour  and  effectiveness  of 
the  opposition.  Though  led  by  Chatham,  and  united 
in  the   desire  to   dislodge  the  ministry,   the  various 

368 


THE  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION  369 

whig  factions  had  clearly  failed  to  obtain  the  end  for 
which  they  had  fought ;  and  there  was  no  reason 
to  believe  that  disaster  in  the  past  would  be  redeemed 
by  success  in  the  future.  On  the  contrary,  there  was 
every  indication  that  the  whigs,  unless  they  were 
prepared  to  relinquish  the  contest,  and  publicly  confess 
to  failure,  had  no  alternative  but  to  continue  along  the 
downward  path  upon  which  they  had  already  started. 
Internecine  strife,  for  so  long  their  bane,  though 
temporarily  stilled  by  the  hope  of  victory,  might 
easily  spring  into  new  life  when  the  prospect  of  a 
speedy  triumph  had  faded  ;  and,  unfortunately,  this 
old  and  deep-rooted  evil  was  likely  to  be  aggravated 
rather  than  diminished  by  the  loss  of  George  Grenville. 
For,  strange  and  paradoxical  as  it  may  appear  at  the 
first  glance,  the  death  of  Grenville  was  to  prove  a  grievous 
and  irreparable  blow  to  the  opposition  ;  and  the  states- 
man, who,  when  alive,  had  wrought  so  much  harm  to 
the  cause  of  unity,  was  to  work  still  further  mischief 
when  dead.  It  was  very  possible  that  his  followers, 
bereft  of  their  master,  might  decline  to  promote  the 
triumph  of  either  Rockingham  or  Chatham ;  for, 
like  the  comites  of  the  ancient  German  chieftain, 
they  had  fought  more  for  their  leader  than  for  victory  ; 
and  with  his  death  departed  their  chief  incentive  to 
continue  the  struggle.  Though  no  man  could  predict 
with  any  degree  of  assurance  their  future  course  of 
action,  it  was,  at  least,  certain  that  the  disciples  of 
Grenville,  by  no  means  inconsiderable  either  in  numbers 
or  in  ability,  had  imbibed  too  much  of  their  master's 
teaching  to  sacrifice  principles  for  the  sake  of  maintain- 
ing unity,  and.,  perhaps,  too  little  to  refrain  from  sacrific- 
ing them  for  their  own  personal  advantage. 

By  the  date  of  Grenville's  death,  however,  that 
pleasing  prospect  of  rest  and  quiet,  which  had  greeted 

2  A 


370    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

the  wearied  ministers  at  the  close  of  the  previous 
session,  no  longer  existed  ;  for  when  all  had  seemed  at 
peace,  the  danger  had  suddenly  arisen  of  the  country 
being  engulfed  into  a  great  European  war.  In  a 
moment  the  whole  political  scene  was  changed,  and 
the  future  charged  with  risk  and  peril.  Both  the 
king  and  North  were  well  aware  that  their  success 
in  the  past  had  been  largely  due  to  the  difficulties 
under  which  their  opponents  suffered  ;  and  that  not 
the  least  of  these  difficulties  had  been  the  lack  of  any 
popular  cry  against  the  government,  The  grievances 
of  Wilkes,  and  the  illegalities  connected  with  the 
Middlesex  election,  had  been  worn  almost  threadbare 
by  lengthy  and  reiterated  discussions ;  and  the 
opposition  sorely  needed  a  new  ground  of  attack  against 
the  court,  sufficiently  important  to  awaken  the  passions 
and  arouse  the  interest  of  the  people.  It  seemed  that 
this  precious  boon  was  now  about  to  be  granted. 
Shortly  before  the  meeting  of  parliament,  news  reached 
this  country  that  Port  Egmont,  an  English  settlement 
upon  one  of  the  Falkland  Islands,  had  been  attacked 
and,  taken  by  a  Spanish  force  in  the  previous  June  ; 
and  immediately  upon  the  receipt  of  this  intelligence, 
it  was  understood  that,  unless  ample  reparation  was 
made  for  what  had  every  appearance  of  being  a 
flagrant  and  wanton  insult,  England  had  no  alternative 
but  to  resort  to  the  sword.  Thus  an  armed  conflict 
seemed  imminent,  and  it  is  not  easy  to  exaggerate 
the  influence  of  this  sudden  and  unexpected  trans- 
formation of  the  political  situation  upon  the  fortunes 
of  the  opposition.  Great  and  deplorable  as  the 
catastrophe  of  an  European  war  would  be,  it  might 
yet  bring  in  its  train  salvation  for  the  enemies  of  the 
court.  If  England  was  either  engaged  in,  or  upon 
the  verge  of,  hostilities,  the  cry  would  be  raised  for 


THE  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION        371 

Chatham,  the  statesman  who  had  guided  the  country 
so  triumphantly  through  the  difficulties  of  the  Seven 
Years'  War,  to  be  once  more  placed  at  the  helm  ;  and 
it  was  by  no  means  improbable  that  such  a  cry  would 
penetrate  through  the  walls  of  parliament.  Corrupt 
and  venal  as  the  average  member  of  the  house  of 
commons  was,  the  lust  for  illicit  gain  had  not  completely 
dried  up  every  noble  instinct  in  his  composition  ;  and 
it  might  well  happen  that,  convinced  that  the  country 
was  threatened  by  a  great  danger,  he  would  refuse 
to  continue  to  sell  his  support  to  the  government,  and, 
in  the  exercise  of  his  vote,  allow  himself  to  be  guided 
by  considerations  of  patriotism  rather  than  by  those 
of  pecuniary  profit.  Nor  would  all  danger  of  the 
destruction  of  the  administration  be  removed  if  war 
was  happily  averted  by  diplomacy.  Following  in  the 
wake  of  those  who  had  compassed  so  successfully 
and  so  unscrupulously  the  overthrow  of  Sir  Robert 
Walpole,  it  would  be  comparatively  easy  for  the 
opposition  to  represent  that  peace  had  been  purchased 
by  the  humiliation  of  England,  that  the  ministers  had 
truckled  to  the  pride  of  Spain,  and  that  the  prestige 
of  the  country  had  been  materially  and  needlessly 
diminished.  Reckless  and  unfair  as  such  accusations 
might  be,  they  would,  nevertheless,  probably  find  a 
ready  hearing  with  a  people  quite  prepared  to  believe 
the  worst  of  the  ministers,  and  to  accept  their  incom- 
petence as  an  article  of  faith  ;  and  thus,  whether  war 
was  declared  or  peace  maintained,  the  future  of  the 
administration  might  be  materially  affected  by  a  trivial 
encounter  on  a  desert  island  in  a  remote  region  of  the 
globe. 

Though  discovered  towards  the  close  of  the  six- 
teenth century,  the  Falkland  Islands  had,  hitherto, 
played  but   a  very  insignificant  part  in  the  world's 


372     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

history.  Claimed  by  Spain  as  part  of  that  dominion 
in  the  new  world  assigned  to  her  by  papal  decree,  they 
were  for  many  years  left  to  their  native  wildness  and 
desolation,  having  nothing  wherewith  to  attract 
colonists  and  settlers  to  whom  were  open  far  more 
fertile  and  accessible  regions.  Situated  off  the  east 
coast  of  South  America,  and  in  nearly  the  same  latitude 
with  the  mouth  of  the  Strait  of  Magellan,  the  Falkland 
Islands,  in  extent  little  more  than  half  the  size  of 
Ireland,  present  a  dreary  and  desolate  aspect.  Every- 
where covered  by  a  peaty  soil  entirely  unsuitable  for 
vegetation,  nearly  barren  of  trees,  and  the  prey  of 
almost  incessant  wind  and  rain,  it  is  hardly  surprising 
that  for  well  over  a  century  the  rights  of  Spain  over 
such  a  desert  spot  were  allowed  to  pass  unchallenged.1 
About  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  however, 
the  period  when  the  predatory  instincts  of  European 
nations  began  to  assume  their  modern  form,  it  was 
suggested  that  a  settlement  upon  these  islands  might 
be  serviceable  for  purposes  of  trade  and  useful  in  time 
of  war ;  and,  in  accordance  with  this  advice,  an  English 

1  Darwin's  A  Naturalist's  Voyage  round  the  World.  An  interesting 
account  of  these  Islands  was  given  by  Captain  Hunt  in  his  report  to  the 
government,  dated  July  1770.  "Near  the  seashore."  he  wrote,  "the  soul 
is  of  a  black  spongy  nature,  and,  in  general,  not  above  eighteen  inches  deep, 
and  then  you  come  to  a  cold  yellow  clay.  The  valleys,  where  it  was  swampy, 
we  found  good  turf  ;  the  other  parts  of  it,  and  the  sides  of  the  hills,  afforded 
good  herbage  ;  and  we  found  the  sheep,  goats,  and  hogs,  that  we  put  on  shore, 
to  thrive  very  well  upon  it,  though  the  surface  is  much  like  our  heaths  or 
moors.  We  planted  cabbages,  potatoes,  turnips,  lettuce,  radishes,  and  several 
other  things,  some  of  which  sprang  up,  but,  in  general,  they  failed,  owing, 
in  my  opinion,  to  the  poorness  of  the  soil.  There  is  no  wood  growing  upon  the 
Islands  ;  but  a  few  shrubs,  and  a  kind  of  brushwood,  and  great  plenty  of  sedge 
growing  near  the  seashore,  which  give  the  cattle  good  shelter  in  the  bad  weather. 
There  is  but  two  sorts  of  fish — the  mullet  and  the  smelt — which  are  very  scarce 
in  winter,  and  not  plenty  in  summer.  At  our  first  coming  to  Port  Egmont, 
we  found  great  plenty  of  wild  geese,  which  now  are  so  scarce  that  we  were 
obliged  to  go  a  considerable  distance  to  get  any  number  of  them.  From 
the  month  of  September  till  the  latter  end  of  November,  we  get  great  quantities 
and  great  variety  of  eggs."     Calendar  of  Home  Office  Papers,  84-85. 


THE  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION        373 

expedition  was  fitted  out  in  the  year  1748,  with  a  view 
of  founding  an  establishment  in  this  hitherto  neglected 
region.  At  once  the  Spanish  ambassador  protested 
against  the  enterprise  as  a  direct  violation  of  his 
master's  territorial  rights,  and  although  the  expedition 
was  abandoned,  this  change  of  plan  was  not  made  in 
deference  to  the  Spanish  claim,  the  validity  of  which 
was  stoutly  denied  by  the  English  ministry  of  the  day. 
From  that  time,  the  disputed  question  of  ownership 
was  allowed  to  rest  until  the  year  1764,  when  Choiseul, 
the  French  minister,  taking  possession  of  the  most 
easterly  of  the  Falkland  Islands,  founded  a  settlement 
which  he  named  Port  Louis  ;  and  two  years  later  his 
example  was  followed  by  the  English  who,  occupying 
the  island  to  the  west  of  that  seized  by  the  French, 
erected  a  fort  which,  in  honour  of  the  then  first  lord 
of  the  admiralty,  was  given  the  name  of  Port  Egmont.1 
It  is  highly  probable  that  both  France  and  England 
were  well  aware  that,  in  so  acting,  they  were  running 
counter  to  the  claims  put  forward  by  the  Spanish 
court ;  and  they  had  not  to  wait  long  for  a  protest  to 
be  made.  France  was  the  first  to  be  called  to  account, 
the  Spaniards  lodging  a  formal  remonstrance  against 
the  establishment  of  Port  Louis ;  and  Choiseul, 
unwilling  to  offend  an  ally  whose  assistance  against 
England  had  been  useful  in  the  past,  and  might  be  still 
more  useful  in  the  future,  promptly  surrendered  the 
French  settlement  which,  passing  into  the  hands  of 
Spain,  was  renamed  Port  Soledad.  This  somewhat 
tame  submission  on  the  part  of  the  French  court  was 
decidedly  unfavourable  to  England  who  was  thus 
deprived  of  her  partner  in  a  policy  of  very  doubtful 
legality  ;  and,  as  might  have  been  anticipated,  the 
Spaniards,  having  succeeded  in  ousting  the  French, 

1  Stanhope's  History  of  England,  1713-17S3,  vol.  v.  276-277. 


374    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

were  by  no  means  prepared  to  allow  the  English  to 
enjoy  their  recent  acquisition  undisturbed.  Towards 
the  end  of  the  year  1769,  Captain  Hunt  of  the  frigate 
Tamar,  then  stationed  off  Port  Egmont,  received 
several  messages  from  the  Spanish  governor  of  Port 
Soledad,  the  main  purport  of  which  was  to  protest 
against  the  English  occupation  of  what  was  claimed 
as  Spanish  territory ;  and,  unfortunately,  in  his 
replies  to  these  remonstrances,  Hunt  displayed  much 
of  the  frankness  of  a  sea-captain  and  little  of  the  tact 
of  a  diplomatist.  Instead  of  contenting  himself  with 
a  polite  denial  of  the  Spanish  claim,  and  a  firm 
assertion  that  the  island  belonged  to  England  by  the 
double  right  of  discovery  and  occupation,  he  proceeded 
to  unnecessary  and  unjustifiable  lengths,  and,  returning 
threat  for  threat,  menaced  the  Spaniards  with  eject- 
ment from  Port  Soledad.  Such  minatory  language 
was  not  likely  to  make  the  Spaniards  more  willing  to 
acquiesce  in  the  English  occupation,  and,  when  he  left 
for  England  shortly  afterwards,  Hunt  must  have 
realised  that  the  seeds  of  a  conflict  had  already  been 
sown.  On  his  arrival  home  in  June,  1770,  he  duly 
reported  to  the  government  his  passage  of  arms  with 
the  Spanish  governor  ;  but  his  information  came  too 
late  to  be  of  any  practical  value  to  the  ministry. 
Possibly  alarmed  lest  the  threat  uttered  by  Hunt 
might  be  speedily  translated  into  action,  the  Spaniards 
resolved  to  be  first  in  the  field  ;  and  much  about 
the  same  time  that  Hunt  arrived  in  England,  a  Spanish 
force,  consisting  of  five  frigates,  which  had  set  sail 
from  Buenos  Ayres  early  in  May,  under  the  command 
of  Buccarelli,  the  governor  of  that  city,  appeared  off 
Port  Egmont,  and  called  upon  the  garrison  to  surrender. 
Resistance  was  out  of  the  question,  the  assailants 
having   a   decided   advantage   both   in   numbers   and 


THE  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION        375 

equipment  ;  and  the  English,  having  perfunctorily 
fired  a  few  shots,  hoisted  a  flag  of  truce,  and  sur- 
rendered the  island  and  fort  into  the  hands  of  the 
Spaniards.1 

When  every  allowance  has  been  made  for  the 
wound  inflicted  upon  Spanish  pride  by  a  foreign 
establishment  in  the  Falkland  Islands,  and  for  the 
apprehension  aroused  by  Hunt's  idle  words,  it  still 
remains  difficult  to  defend  the  assault  upon  Port 
Egmont,  smacking  as  it  does  more  of  piracy  than 
the  conduct  of  a  civilised  European  power.  Friendly 
relations  existed  between  England  and  Spain,  and  no 
notice  had  been  given  that  such  an  avowed  act  of 
hostility  was  in  contemplation.  It  is,  of  course,  quite 
possible,  as  was  alleged  at  the  time  by  Prince  Masserano, 
the  Spanish  ambassador  in  England,  that  Buccarelli 
had  acted  entirely  on  his  own  responsibility,  and 
without  any  specific  orders  from  the  government  at 
Madrid  ; 2  but  the  actions  of  subordinates  are  sometimes 

1  Annual  Register  for  1771,  232-234. 

2  Calendar  of  Home  Office  Papers,  63-64.  In  a  speech  delivered  in  the 
house  of  lords  on  January  22nd,  1800,  the  Earl  of  Carnarvon,  who  asserted 
that  he  had  received  his  information  from  D'Ossun,  the  French  ambassador 
to  the   Court   of  Madrid,  gave  a  rather   different  version   of   this   incident. 

'  Where  can  be  found,"  he  remarked,  "  in  the  history  of  mankind,  a  more 
atrocious  instance  of  insidious  treachery,  or  more  perfidious  breach  of  faith, 
than  that  which  took  place  on  the  treaty  of  peace  which  preceded,  and  was 
disturbed  by  the  capture  of  Falkland's  Island  ?  At  the  very  moment  that  Spain 
and  France  signed  peace  with  this  country,  an  order  was  signed  by  the  minister 
of  Spain,  in  concert  with  the  Duke  de  Choiseul,  to  attack  Falkland's  Island 
on  a  given  date  some  years  after,  in  order  to  produce  a  rupture,  resolved  on, 
at  the  very  instant  of  executing  a  treaty,  professing  perpetual  amity  ;  at  the 
time  when  this  sealed  order  was  opened  and  put  in  execution,  it  suited  the 
interests  and  views  of  neither  court,  and  produced  equal  astonishment  in  both. 
M.  D'Ossun,  then  ambassador  from  France  to  the  Court  of  Spain,  from  whom 
I  heard  this  anecdote,  was  directed  to  remonstrate  against  this  act  of  aggres- 
sion, which  embarrassed  the  court  of  Paris  ;  he  found  equal  surprise  at  Madrid, 
for  the  order  was  forgotten  by  both,  nor  was  recollected  till  the  attack  was 
defended  by  the  production  of  the  order."  Pari.  Hist.,  vol.  xxxiv.  p.  1239. 
See  also  Adophus'  History  of  England,  from  the  accession  to  tbe  decease  of 
King  George  the  Third  (1840),  vol.  i.  p.  441. 


376    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

fraught  with  momentous  consequences,  and,  at  one 
time,  it  seemed  extremely  likely  that  an  obscure 
Spanish  colonial  governor  was  to  enjoy  the  very 
doubtful  honour  of  having  precipitated  an  European 
conflict.  English  dignity  had  incurred  a  dire  affront, 
and,  unless  the  ministers  were  prepared  to  face  a 
storm  of  national  indignation  far  exceeding  in  fury 
that  which  had  greeted  Walpole  on  the  conclusion 
of  the  famous  Spanish  convention,  they  must  demand 
instant  reparation  for  so  grievous  an  injury  and  so 
public  an  insult.  Yet  a  request  of  this  character, 
however  moderately  expressed,  was  not  unattended 
with  danger,  for  it  was  clear  that  Spain  believed  that 
she  had  suffered  as  well  as  inflicted  a  wrong,  and  it 
was  by  no  means  certain  that  she  would  be  ready  to 
grant  all  that  England  asked.  The  evil-doer  is  not 
always  prepared  to  atone  for  his  guilt,  or  to  confess 
that  his  crime  was  without  provocation  ;  and,  great 
though  the  power  of  England  might  be,  it  was  not 
improbable  that  Spain,  counting  upon  the  assistance 
of  France,  might  prefer  to  save  her  pride  by  incur- 
ring the  risks  of  war.  Much  indeed  would  depend 
upon  the  attitude  of  France  at  this  critical  juncture. 
Connected  as  she  was  with  Spain  by  the  Pacte  de 
Famille  of  1761,  and  still  smarting  under  her  humilia- 
tion by  England  in  the  Seven  Years'  War,  it  was 
quite  possible  that  France  might  elect  to  throw  in 
her  lot  with  her  Bourbon  neighbour,  and,  in  that 
event,  there  would  be  but  a  remote  chance  of 
maintaining  peace. 

It  was,  therefore,  no  easy  task  which  fell  to  the  lot 
of  Lord  Weymouth,  the  secretary  of  state  for  the 
southern  department.  Though  fully  alive  to  the  very 
serious  influence  that  an  outbreak  of  war  might  exert 
upon   the   course   of   domestic   politics,   he   was   also 


THE  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION        377 

aware  that  an  ignominious  peace  might  be  equally 
disastrous,  and  that  salvation  could  only  be  procured 
by  a  settlement,  possible  for  Spain  to  accept,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  satisfactory  to  English  pride. 
Strait  and  confined  indeed  was  the  diplomatic  road 
which  the  secretary  of  state  was  called  upon  to  tread 
if  he  was  to  reach  the  goal  of  "  peace  with  honour  "  ; 
and  those  acquainted  with  his  habits  during  that 
large  part  of  the  day  and  night  which  he  devoted  to  his 
pleasures  might  well  be  appalled  to  think  that  so 
narrow  a  path  was  to  be  trodden  by  so  drunken  a 
debauchee.  Yet,  such  apprehensions  did  Weymouth 
some  wrong,  for  a  plentiful  indulgence  in  vice  had  not 
entirely  ruined  his  good  natural  ability.  Called  upon 
to  make  a  great  effort,  he  appears,  for  a  time  at  least, 
to  have  risen  to  the  occasion,  and  to  have  expended 
upon  diplomacy  some  of  that  energy  which  was 
commonly  devoted  to  less  arduous,  though  perhaps 
more  diverting,  pursuits.  Nor  can  be  he  accused  of 
failing  to  perceive  the  importance  of  the  issue,  or 
of  procrastination  ;  and  he  deserves  no  little  credit 
for  his  handling  of  an  exceedingly  difficult  and  delicate 
negotiation.  It  was  early  in  September  that  he  learnt, 
both  from  Masserano  and  from  James  Harris,  then  a 
youthful  charge  d'affaires  at  the  court  of  Madrid, 
and  only  on  the  threshold  of  a  diplomatic  career  which 
was  to  bring  him  both  renown  and  a  peerage,  that  a 
Spanish  force  had  set  sail  from  Buenos  Ayres  with 
hostile  intentions  against  Port  Egmont  ;  x  and  he 
wasted  no  time  in  stating  the  redress  which  England 
expected  to  receive,  the  Spanish  ambassador  being 
promptly  informed  that  peace  could  only  be  preserved 
by   the  formal   disavowal  of   Buccarelli's  action,  and 

1  Diaries  and  Correspondence  of  the  Earl  of  Malmesbury,  i,  59  ;    Calendar 
of  Home  Office  Papers,  63-64. 


378     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

the  restoration  of  Port  Egmont ;  and  Harris  being 
instructed  to  lay  the  same  demands  before  Grimaldi, 
the  minister  of  the  king  of  Spain.1 

In  formulating  such  requirements,  Weymouth  was 
certainly  not  guilty  of  opening  the  negotiation  in  an 
unduly  aggressive  or  hostile  spirit  ;  for,  unless  pre- 
pared to  admit  without  further  parley  that  England 
had  no  right  to  a  single  inch  of  territory  in  the  Falkland 
Islands,  it  was  incumbent  upon  the  cabinet  to  proclaim, 
from  the  outset,  the  complete  absence  of  any  justifica- 
tion for  Buccarelli's  action,  and  to  demand  reparation 
in  no  uncertain  tone.  Yet,  firm  though  Weymouth's 
attitude  might  be,  he  certainly  was  not  blind  to  the 
urgent  necessity  of  a  careful  scrutiny  of  French 
diplomacy.  He  was  well  aware  that  the  reception 
accorded  in  Spain  to  the  English  demands  would  largely 
depend  upon  the  opinions  which  prevailed  at  the  court 
of  Madrid  upon  the  stability  of  the  Pacte  de  Famille  ; 
and  it  is  significant  that  the  letter  to  Harris  was  first 
sent  to  Robert  Walpole,  a  nephew  of  the  great  prime 
minister,  and  secretary  to  the  English  embassy  at 
Paris,  who,  in  the  absence  of  Lord  Harcourt,  the 
ambassador,  was  instructed  to  communicate  its  contents 
to  Choiseul,  and  then  despatch  it  to  Spain.2  The 
motives  which  inspired  this  somewhat  tardy  method 
of  procedure  are  not  difficult  to  perceive.  Before 
plunging  deeply  into  the  negotiation  with  Spain, 
it  was  advisable  for  Weymouth  to  ascertain  how  far 
there  was  a  danger  of  England  being  called  upon  to 
meet  the  combined  onslaught  of  the  two  Bourbon 
powers  ;  for,  though  Choiseul  had  already  intimated 
that  he  hoped  war  would  be  averted,  and  a  friendly 

1  Calendar  of  Home  Office  Papers,  63-64. 

2  Weymouth  to  Walpole,  September  12th,  1770.     Foreign  State  Papers, 
R.O.,  281. 


THE  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION        379 

settlement  reached,1  it  was  by  no  means  certain  that 
he  would  continue  in  the  same  pacific  state  of  mind 
when  he  learnt  the  degree  of  reparation  which  England 
expected.  Yet,  from  the  point  of  view  of  this  country, 
no  conversation  could  have  been  more  re-assuring 
than  that  which  took  place  between  Choiseul  and  Wal- 
pole  at  Versailles  on  the  morning  of  September  16th. 
"  When  I  had  read  the  letter  to  Mr  Harris,"  wrote 
Walpole  to  the  secretary  of  state,  "  the  Due  de  Choiseul 
expressed  himself  highly  satisfied  with  it,  and  desired 
me  to  leave  it  with  him,  that  he  might  the  more 
easily  be  able  to  communicate  it  to  his  most  Christian 
majesty  in  its  very  words.  He  said  that  Marquis 
Grimaldi  could  not  do  better  than  subscribe  his  name 
to  your  lordship's  letter,  that  he  would  write  imme- 
diately to  Marquis  Grimaldi,  and  would  adopt  the 
sentiments  and  language  of  it ;  and  would  recommend 
it  very  warmly  to  Marquis  Grimaldi  to  direct  a  memorial 
to  be  presented  to  the  court  of  England  in  answer  to 
what  is  demanded ;  wherein  the  conduct  of  Monsieur 
Buccarelli  should  be  disavowed  in  the  strongest  terms, 
an  engagement  made  to  re-establish  the  affairs  of  the 
settlement  at  Port  Egmont,  and  that  even  an  indemni- 
fication should  be  promised  to  be  made  to  the  sufferers  ; 
and  he  would  desire  that  this  might  be  done  imme- 
diately, that  the  alarm  and  apprehension  upon  this 
occasion  might  entirely  cease."  2  No  utterance  could 
have  been  more  friendly  or  pacific,  and  Choiseul  did 
not  confine  himself  to  words  alone.  Two  days  after 
the  conversation  at  Versailles,  he  told  Walpole  that, 
with  the  approval  of  Louis  XV.,  who  was  in  entire 
sympathy  with  the  English  demands,  he  had  already 

1  Walpole  to  Weymouth,  September  12th,  1770;    Foreign  State  Papers, 
R.O.,  281. 

2  Walpole  to  Weymouth,  September  16th,   1770;    Foreign  State  Papers, 
R.O.,  281. 


380    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

written  to  Grimaldi,  "  exhorting  him  in  the  strongest 
manner,  and  with  all  the  reasons  he  could  think  of, 
to  procure  from  his  Catholic  majesty  a  declaration 
under  his  own  hand,  acquiescing  in  what  the  court  of 
England  demanded,  and  to  despatch  this  without 
loss  of  time."  1 

Thus  Choiseul  breathed  peace  and  conciliation ; 
but  it  is  a  penalty  attaching  to  all  statesmen  and 
diplomatists  that  their  words,  and  even  sometimes 
their  actions,  are  not  always  sufficient  to  carry  con- 
viction ;  and  the  question  of  the  French  minister's 
sincerity  must  inevitably  arise.  It  has  been  con- 
tended with  no  little  plausibility  that  Choiseul  was, 
in  reality,  playing  a  double  game,  that,  while  he  professed 
to  be  seeking  for  peace,  he  was  engaged  in  scheming  for 
war,  and  that  the  only  object  of  his  pacific  utterances 
was  to  lull  England  into  a  false  and  delusive  belief 
in  the  security  of  her  own  position.  Weighty  arguments 
can  be  urged  in  support  of  such  a  view.  It  can  be  said 
that  the  time  had  come  for  the  two  Bourbon  powers 
to  unite  in  humiliating  the  country  under  whose 
supremacy  they  had  suffered,  that  the  interests  of 
France  were  closely  engaged  in  fomenting  a  quarrel, 
and  that  Choiseul's  personal  predominance,  inasmuch 
as  he  was  no  longer  as  influential  at  court  as  he  once  had 
been,  depended  upon  the  outbreak  of  a  war  which  he 
might  utilise  to  render  himself  indispensable,  and  to 
regain  his  control  over  the  king.  Moreover,  it  is  known 
that  as  late  as  the  month  of  July,  1770,  he  had  instituted 
inquiries  into  Spain's  readiness  for  war,  and  given 
every  indication  of  being  anxious  to  strike  without 
delay  a  blow  against  the  power  of  England  ; 2  and  it 

1  Walpole  to  Weymouth,  September  18th,  1770;    Foreign  State  Papers, 
R.O.,  281. 

2  Le  Regne  de  Louis  XV.,  H.  Carre  (1909),  390. 


THE  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION        381 

can,  therefore,  be  contended  that,  though  not  ab- 
solutely convicted,  the  French  minister  falls  under 
grave  suspicion  of  having  been  guilty  of  duplicity 
in  expressing  his  desire  for  the  maintenance  of  peace. 
No  mistake,  however,  is  greater  than  to  attribute 
consistency  to  statesmen,  who,  as  experience  shows, 
are  generally  quite  willing  to  trim  their  sails  to  the 
changing  breeze  ;  and  there  is  good  reason  to  believe 
that,  whatever  may  have  been  his  disposition  in  the 
previous  July,  Choiseul  in  September  was  by  no  means 
desirous  of  war.  It  is  not  of  much  weight,  perhaps, 
that  both  Robert  Walpole,  and,  later,  Lord  Harcourt, 
testified  strongly  to  his  sincerity,  for  diplomatists  are 
not  proof  against  deception  ;  l  but  when  we  learn 
that  Choiseul  advised  the  Spanish  ministry  to  avoid 
a  contest,  even  at  the  cost  of  a  surrender  to  England,2 
the  testimony  of  Walpole  and  Harcourt  becomes  credible 
and  easy  of  acceptance.  Nor  is  it  difficult  to  account 
for  this  sudden  change  in  French  policy.  A  little 
reflection  had  convinced  Choiseul  that,  attractive  as 
was  the  idea  of  a  war  with  England,  the  internal 
condition  of  France  rendered  it  impossible  to  carry 
such  an  enterprise  to  a  successful  conclusion.  Con- 
fronted by  a  depleted  treasury,  and  precluded  from 
imposing  fresh  taxes  by  the  quarrel  between  the 
French  crown  and  the  parlements,  which  was  then  at 
its  height,  he  realised  that,  even  with  the  assistance 
of  Spain,  France  was  in  no  condition  to  undertake 
the  subjugation  of  a  nation  which,  though  she  might 
be  destroyed,  would  be  certain  to  make  a  long  and 
desperate  resistance  ;  and  that,  therefore,  it  was 
in  accordance  with  the  best  interests  of  his  country 

1  Walpole  to  Weymouth,  September  18th,  1770  ;   Harcourt  to  Weymouth, 
November  18th,  1770  ;   Foreign  State  Papers,  R.O.,  281. 

2  Le  Rtgne  dc  Louis  XV.,  H.  Carre,  390. 


382     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

to  endeavour  to  avert  an  European  war  for  which  she 
was  not  ready,  but  in  which  she  could  not  but  be 
involved. 

Yet,  though  the  weight  of  France  might  be  thrown 
into  the  scale  for  peace,  it  was  by  no  means  certain 
that  Spain  would  follow  tamely  in  the  wake  of  its 
ally,  and  there  was  a  real  danger  that  the  lesser  power 
would  draw  the  greater,  and  Choiseul  be  compelled 
by  the  Pacte  de  Famille  to  take  part  in  a  war  for 
which  he  had  no  liking.  So  much,  therefore,  depended 
upon  the  reception  accorded  at  Madrid  to  the  English 
demands  that  no  little  interest  attaches  to  the  first 
meeting  between  Grimaldi  and  Harris,  which  took 
place  on  Tuesday,  September  25th.  In  accordance  with 
the  instructions  communicated  to  him  by  Weymouth, 
Harris  informed  the  Spanish  Minister  of  the  reparation 
England  demanded,  and  stated  that,  if  the  request 
was  not  fulfilled,  war  would  be  inevitable.  Such 
a  communication  was  certainly  plain  and  straight- 
forward enough,  but  it  did  not  have  the  effect  of  elicit- 
ing equal  frankness  on  the  part  of  Grimaldi.  It  is 
true  that  he  expressed  his  regret  for  what  had  happened, 
his  anxiety  for  the  maintenance  of  peace,  and  his 
desire  for  a  speedy  settlement ;  but  he  laid  a  very 
unpleasant  emphasis  upon  the  very  doubtful  status 
of  the  English  in  the  Falkland  Islands,  and  roundly 
asserted  that  Buccarelli  had  only  acted  in  accordance 
with  "  the  established  laws  of  America,"  a  statement 
which  might  be  taken  to  imply  that  it  was  the  duty  of 
all  the  Spanish  governors  in  that  continent  to  defend 
their  master's  dominions  against  foreign  aggressions. 
From  remarks  so  general,  and,  therefore,  so  obscure, 
it  was  almost  impossible  to  gather  Spain's  probable 
course  of  action,  and  Harris  learnt  but  very  little  more 
from  his  second  meeting  with  Grimaldi,  which  took 


THE  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION        383 

place  three  days  later.  "  He  said,"  wrote  the  English 
charge  d'affaires,  "  he  had  laid  my  memorial  before 
the  king,  and  that  his  majesty  was  resolved  to  do  every- 
thing in  his  power  to  terminate  in  an  amicable  manner 
this  affair  ;  that,  therefore,  he  admitted  our  demand, 
and  that  he  assented  to  it  in  every  point  consistent 
with  his  honour,  which,  as  well  as  ours,  was  to  be 
considered :  that  .  .  .  orders  had  been  given  to 
Prince  Masserano  to  lay  before  your  lordship  the  several 
ideas  which  had  been  suggested  on  this  head  ;  and, 
as  they  only  differed  in  the  terms,  and  not  essentially, 
he  trusted  some  of  them  would  be  adopted.  I  begged 
his  excellency  would  tell  me,  in  general,  in  what  those 
terms  consisted  ;  he  said  they  were  various  ;  we  might 
choose  those  we  liked  best  ;  that  it  was  needless  to 
tell  them  to  me,  since  I  might  be  satisfied  they  differed 
only  in  the  mode,  not  in  the  effect,  from  our  demand. 
I  then  asked  him  if  I  might  consider  this  as  an  answer 
to  my  memorial  ;  he  said  I  might,  and  that  he  hoped 
my  court  would  look  upon  it  as  a  favourable  one,  since 
nothing  could  induce  them  to  condescend  so  far  but 
their  great  desire  of  maintaining  the  good  harmony 
between  the  two  courts."  1 

A  careful  reading  between  the  lines  reveals  the 
essentially  unsatisfactory  character  of  this  vague  and 
ambiguous  communication.  It  was  certainly  not  a 
hopeful  sign  that  Grimaldi  had  refused  to  admit  Harris 
into  his  confidence,  and  it  was  very  significant  that, 
though  he  attempted  to  minimise  the  difference,  the 
Spanish  minister  allowed  that  what  his  government 
was  prepared  to  give,  did  not  quite  coincide  with  what 
England  had  asked.  Indeed,  the  very  noticeable  stress 
laid  upon  the  honour  of  the  country,  the  justification  of 
Buccarelli's  action,  and  the  doubtful  legality  of  the 

1  Diaries  and  Correspondence  of  the  Earl  of  Malmesbury,  i,  59-63. 


384     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

English  occupation  pointed  to  the  fact  that  the  Spanish 
government,  convinced  that  the  wrong-doing  had  not 
been  exclusively  on  one  side,  was  more  prepared  to 
conclude  a  bargain   than  to  sue  unconditionally  for 
surrender.     Such   was,    indeed,    the    case,    and   when 
Masserano,    having    received    his    instructions    from 
Madrid,   submitted  the  proposals  of  his  government 
to  Weymouth,  it  at  once  became  clear  that  the  two 
countries  had  made  little  or  no  progress  towards  an 
agreement.     Instead  of  undertaking  that  the  English 
demands  should  be  fulfilled  without  delay,  the  Spanish 
Ambassador  proposed  the  conclusion  of  a  convention 
under  which  both  countries  would  be  pledged  to  make 
certain  concessions.     Thus  Spain,  on  her  part,  was  to 
disavow  Buccarelli's  conduct,  and  to  promise  to  restore 
Port  Egmont,  but,  in  return  for  receiving  this  repara- 
tion, England  was  to  admit  that  Buccarelli  had  acted 
in  accordance  with  his  general  instructions  and  his 
oath  as  governor,  to  disavow  the  threat  of  Captain 
Hunt,  which  was  alleged  by  Spain  to  have  provoked 
the  attack  upon  Port  Egmont,  and  to  agree  that  in 
restoring  the  English  settlement  the  king  of  Spain  in 
no   way   acknowledged   that    England   possessed   any 
legal  right  to  territory  in  the  Falkland  Islands.1 

It  is  clear  that  such  proposals  were  very  far  from 
complying  with  the  demands  of  England  ;  and 
Weymouth  and  his  colleagues  in  the  cabinet  were 
justified  in  expressing  their  profound  dissatisfaction 
with  the  attitude  adopted  by  Spain.     From  the  first 

1  Weymouth  to  Harris,  October  17th,  1770  ;  Foreign  State  Papers,  R.O., 
185.  In  their  original  form  Masserano's  instructions  contained  a  suggestion 
that  both  countries  should  evacuate  the  Falkland  Islands,  but  Choiseul, 
realising  that  England  would  never  assent  to  such  a  proposal,  contrived  to 
obtain  its  withdrawal.  It  may  be  to  this  incident  that  a  curious  tale  told 
by  Grafton  in  his  Autobiography  refers.  Walpole  to  Weymouth,  October  7th 
and  October  9th,  1770;  Foreign  State  Papers,  R.O.,  281  ;  Grafton's  Auto- 
biography, 255-256. 


THE  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION        385 

they  had  acted  on  the  not  unreasonable  assumption 
that  they  were  entitled  to  receive  unconditional  re- 
paration ;  and  they  now  discovered  that  this  point  of 
view  was  not  shared  by  the  court  of  Madrid.  Both 
the  idea  of  a  convention,  and  of  making  any  concessions, 
however  trivial,  were  entirely  unpalatable  to  the 
ministry  with  the  fear  of  the  parliamentary  opposition 
and  public  opinion  before  its  eyes  ;  and  the  terms  were 
decisively  and  unhesitatingly  refused.  "  I  was  ordered 
to  tell  the  Spanish  ambassador,"  wrote  Weymouth  to 
Harris  on  October  17th,  "  that  when  the  king's  modera- 
tion condescended  to  demand  of  the  court  of  Madrid 
to  disavow  the  proceedings  of  the  governor  of  Buenos 
Ayres,  and  to  restore  things  precisely  to  that  situation 
in  which  they  stood  before  the  rash  and  unwarrantable 
undertaking  of  the  governor,  as  the  smallest  reparation 
for  the  injury  received  that  he  could  possibly  accept, 
his  majesty  thought  there  was  nothing  left  for  dis- 
cussion except  the  mode  of  carrying  that  disavowal 
and  that  restitution  into  execution.  I  was  also  ordered 
to  say  that  his  majesty  adheres  invariably  to  his  first 
demand;  and  that,  without  entering  into  the  insur- 
mountable objections  to  the  matter  of  this  proposed 
convention,  the  manner  alone  is  totally  inadmissible ; 
for  his  majesty  cannot  accept  under  a  convention  that 
satisfaction  to  which  he  has  so  just  a  title  without 
entering  into  any  engagements  in  order  to  procure  it ; 
that  the  idea  of  his  majesty  becoming  a  contracting 
party  upon  this  occasion  is  entirely  foreign  to  the  case, 
for,  having  received  an  injury,  and  demanded  the 
most  moderate  reparation  of  that  injury,  his  honour  will 
permit  him  to  accept,  that  reparation  loses  its  value 
if  it  is  to  be  conditional,  and  to  be  obtained  by  any 
stipulation  whatsoever  on  the  part  of  his  majesty."  1 

1  Weymouth  to  Harris,  October  17th,  1770 ;  Foreign  State  Papers,  R.O.,  185. 
2  B 


386     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

The  immediate  consequences  of  the  refusal  of  the 
English  ministry  to  continue  the  discussion  along  the 
lines  suggested  by  Spain,  was  the  temporary  suspension 
of  the  negotiation,  no  further  progress  between 
Weymouth  and  Masserano  being  possible  until  the 
latter  had  received  fresh  instructions  from  his  govern- 
ment. Thus  the  situation  was  critical  in  the  extreme, 
for  it  apparently  lay  with  Spain  to  determine  whether 
the  peace  of  Western  Europe  was  to  be  broken,  and 
it  was  by  no  means  easy  to  foresee  what  she  would 
do.  According  to  D'Ossun,  the  French  ambassador 
in  that  country,  the  court  of  Madrid  was  in  favour  of 
a  bellicose  policy,  and  was  supported  in  this  by  public 
opinion ; x  while  Harris  believed  that  Spain  was  in  no 
condition  to  embark  upon  hostilities,  was  genuinely 
desirous  of  peace,  and  feared  "  nothing  so  much  as  our 
breaking  with  them." 2  Yet  even  Harris,  sanguine 
though  he  was,  admitted  the  existence  of  a  warlike 
party  in  the  government  and  nation,  and  narrated 
how,  early  in  October,  Grimaldi  had  told  him  that  the 
king  of  Spain  "  was  not  so  reduced  as  to  suffer  himself 
to  be  menaced,"  and  that  "  he  had  a  powerful  ally 
who  would  indisputably  share  his  fate."  3  From  such 
conflicting  accounts  the  truth  is  not  to  be  easily  dis- 
entangled, but  it  may  be  that  the  key  to  the  puzzle 
lies  in  Grimaldi's  boast  that  France  would  be  certain 
to  come  to  her  ally's  assistance.  It  is  clear  that  Spain, 
inasmuch  as  she  had  already  offered  to  fulfil  the  de- 
mands of  England,  was  not  desirous  of  provoking  a 
conflict  at  all  cost  ;  but  it  is  equally  clear  that  she  was 
keenly  desirous  of  saving  her  pride,  and  of  receiving 
something  in  return  for  the  concessions  she  was  pre- 

1  Le  Regne  de  Louis  XV.,  H.  Carre,  390. 

2  Diaries  and  Correspondence  of  the  Earl  of  Malmesbury,  1,  63-66. 

3  Harris  to  Weymouth,  October  nth,  1770;    Foreign  State  Papers,  R.O., 
185. 


THE  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION        387 

pared  to  make  ;  and,  therefore,  it  was  only  too  probable 
that,  if  the  English  ministers  continued  to  demand  an 
unconditional  surrender,  Spain,  trusting  in  French 
support,  might  prefer  the  burden  of  a  war  to  the  loss 
of  her  dignity. 

If  this  interpretation  of  the  situation  be  correct,  the 
outlook  was  certainly  not  very  hopeful.  The  English 
ministry,  fearful  of  its  own  safety  at  home,  was  not 
likely  to  recede  from  its  original  position  ;  and,  if  com- 
promise was  outside  the  range  of  practical  politics,  there 
appeared  to  be  no  solution  of  the  problem  but  the  blunt 
and  clumsy  method  of  resort  to  armed  force.  It  is 
not  surprising  that  Choiseul  was  appalled  at  such  a  dire 
prospect.  Convinced  that  it  was  not  a  suitable  time 
for  entering  upon  hostilities  with  England,  and  equally 
convinced  that  he  could  not  allow  Spain  to  embark  upon 
a  war  alone,  he  saw  the  only  salvation  for  himself  and 
his  country  in  peace,  and  strained  every  nerve  to  pro- 
mote an  amicable  settlement.  With  Walpole  he  dis- 
cussed the  terms  which  Masserano  had  offered  and 
Weymouth  rejected,  seeking  to  represent  them  in  as 
favourable  a  light  as  possible.  With  some  show  of 
plausibility  he  contended  that  Spain  had  really 
granted  all  that  England  had  ever  asked,  that  the 
demand  for  the  conclusion  of  a  convention  was  of  little 
or  no  account,  and  that  the  failure  of  the  two  countries 
to  come  to  a  speedy  agreement  had  been  rather  the 
fruit  of  a  misunderstanding  than  of  a  real  difference  of 
opinion.  Moreover,  in  order  to  promote  a  settlement, 
he  undertook,  with  the  approval  of  the  Spanish 
ambassador  in  France,  to  recommend  Grimaldi  both 
to  tell  Harris  that  the  English  demands  would  be 
fulfilled  and  to  instruct  Masserano  to  sign  a  declara- 
tion embodying  a  similar  assurance.  More  he  could 
hardly  do,  and  Walpole  was  sanguine  enough  to  believe 


388    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

that  Choiseul  had  sufficient  influence  over  the  Spanish 
government  to  avert  the  catastrophe  of  an  European 
war.1  Such  an  expectation,  however,  seriously  under- 
estimated the  difficulties  of  the  French  minister's 
task.  Grimaldi  was  clearly  chagrined  by  the  summary 
rejection  of  his  offer,  somewhat  petulantly  remarking 
to  Harris  that  "  we  have  allowed  ourselves  to  be  in  the 
wrong,  we  have  offered  the  most  ample  reparation  ; 
surely  it  is  very  hard  in  the  point  wherein  we  are 
insulted  (meaning  the  menace  of  Captain  Hunt),  you 
will  not  listen  to  our  solicitations,  although  they  are 
such  as  you  might  acquiesce  in  without  the  least 
diminution  of  the  satisfaction  we  give  you." 2  Such  a 
declaration  did  not  testify  to  a  conciliatory  disposition, 
and  the  situation,  already  quite  critical  enough,  was 
rendered  no  easier  by  the  fact  that  all  three  countries 
were  busily  preparing  for  war. 

It  was  on  October  29th  that  Harris  waited  upon 
Grimaldi  to  learn  what  steps  the  Spanish  government 
proposed  to  take,  now  that  its  first  offer  had  been 
refused  ;  but  it  was  not  until  November  7th  that  he 
received  the  information  he  sought.  Nor  when  it  came 
was  it  hopeful  for  peace,  Harris  being  told  by  Grimaldi 
that  though  Spain  was  willing  to  abandon  the  idea  of 
a  convention,  and  to  allow  England  to  select  the  mode 
of  giving  the  promised  satisfaction,  she  still  required 
that,  her  honour  should  be  safeguarded,  and  that  "  the 
affair  should  be  ultimately  and  decisively  terminated."  3 
The  meaning  of  these  studiously  vague  and  ambiguous 
phrases  was  fully  revealed  by  Masserano  in  the  many 
conversations  he  had  with  Weymouth  after  Monday, 
November  19th,  the  day  on  which  he  received  his  new 

1  Walpole    to    Weymouth,    October    21st,    1770;     Foreign   State    Papers 
R.O.,  281. 

2  Diaries  and  Correspondence  of  the  Earl  of  Malmesbury,  1,  66-68. 

3  Calendar  of  Home  Office  Papers,  104-106. 


THE  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION        389 

instructions  from  Madrid.  The  suggestion  of  a  con- 
vention was  not,  indeed,  again  put  forward,  but 
Weymouth,  much  to  his  disgust,  was  not  slow  to 
discover  that  this  was  a  concession  more  in  appearance 
than  in  reality,  inasmuch  as  the  principle  of  reciprocity 
was  maintained.  Thus,  the  conduct  of  Buccarelli, 
though  to  be  disavowed,  was  again  to  be  excused  as 
having  been  provoked  by  Hunt's  menaces,  and  though 
Masserano  was  authorised  to  sign  a  declaration  such 
as  England  had  demanded,  he  was  only  to  do  so  on  the 
understanding  that  immediately  afterwards  a  negotia- 
tion should  be  set  on  foot  between  the  two  countries 
with  a  view  of  settling  their  rival  claims  in  the  Falkland 
Islands.  To  such  terms  it  was  clearly  impossible  for 
the  ministry  to  accede,  and  Weymouth  met  them  with 
a  definite  refusal.1 

1  The  general  trend  of  these  conversations  between  Weymouth  and 
Masserano  can  be  gathered  from  various  sources.  In  a  letter  to  Weymouth, 
dated  November  14th,  Walpole,  writing  from  Paris,  mentions  that  "  the 
courier  arrived  from  Spain  yesterday  morning  with  dispatches  for  the  Due 
de  Choiseul,  the  Spanish  ambassador  here,  and  Prince  Masseran.  ...  I 
saw  the  Due  de  Choiseul  last  night.  He  and  the  Spanish  Ambassador  think 
the  contents  of  their  dispatches  are  good  .  .  .  that  the  court  of  Madrid 
gives  Prince  Masseran  full  powers  to  negotiate  upon  the  affair  with  his 
majesty's  ministers,  and  he  is  ordered  to  make  a  declaration  whereby  he  will 
disavow  the  enterprise  of  Monsieur  Buccarelli,  though  he  is  at  the  same 
time  to  excuse  his  conduct  in  that  the  menace  of  Captain  Hunt  was  the  cause 
of  it.  He  is  then  by  the  same  declaration  to  consent  to  the  re-establishment 
of  his  majesty's  subjects  in  the  Falkland  Islands,  as  has  been  required,  and  is 
to  desire  that  his  majesty  would  be  disposed  to  enter  into  a  negotiation  on 
the  fond  of  the  matter,  as  soon  as  the  declaration  shall  be  made  and  accepted." 
Foreign  State  Papers,  R.O.,  281.  In  a  letter  to  Lord  North,  dated  November, 
23rd,  George  III.  wrote,  "  I  saw  Lord  Weymouth  on  his  coming  from  the 
Spanish  ambassador ;  the  project  produced  this  day  differed  but  little 
from  that  of  Wednesday.  Lord  Weymouth  has  renewed  the  demand  of  the 
governor  of  Buenos  Ayres  being  disavowed,  and  the  island  restored,  un- 
attended by  any  discussion  on  the  right."  Correspondence  of  George  III. 
with  Lord  North,  1,  210.  "  I  cannot  account,"  wrote  Walpole  to  Harris  on 
December  1st,  "  for  such  unreasonable  behaviour  in  the  court  of  Spain, 
and  can  neither  see  the  justice  or  the  prudence  of  it.  The  obstinacy  in  not  at 
once  granting  what  the  honour  of  our  nation  justly  requires  makes  me  think 
that  court  more  in  the  wrong  than  what  I  have  all  along  wished,  or  been 
inclined  to  do,  for  where  is  the  difficulty  of  disavowing  the  conduct  of  a  giddy 


390    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

Thus,  for  a  second  time,  the  negotiation  reached  a 
deadlock,  and  the  clouds  of  war  loomed  larger  than  ever 
upon  the  political  horizon.  Choiseul,  who  had  nattered 
himself  that  peace  was  within  sight,  was  aghast  to  hear 
that  the  Spanish  offer  had  been  summarily  rejected  ; 
and  promptly  begged  Lord  Harcourt,  who  had  now 
returned  to  his  ambassadorial  duties,  "  to  write 
immediately  to  your  court  that  we  may  know  their 
final  determination,  what  they  want,  and  what  they 
wish,  that  I  may  make  a  last  effort  to  obtain  the 
satisfaction  they  desire. ' ' x  But,  though  willing  to  make 
this  final  attempt  to  bring  about  a  peaceful  solution, 
he  appears  to  have  cherished  but  little  hope  of  success, 
bitterly  exclaiming  to  Harcourt  that  "  this  paltry 
island  .  .  .  will  probably  draw  us  into  a  war,  as  con- 
trary to  our  several  interests  as  to  our  inclinations,"  2 
and  in  a  dispatch  to  D'Ossun,  dated  December  4th,  he 
took  for  granted  that  war  was  inevitable.3  Nor  was 
he  at  all  singular  in  this  opinion,  for  in  England  there 
was  an  equally  strong  conviction  that  there  was  but 
a  very  slender  prospect  of  the  maintenance  of  peace. 
Harcourt  was  told  by  Lord  Weymouth  that  now  his 
most  important  work  was  to  procure  intelligence  of 
military  and  naval  preparations  in  France ; 4  and 
Harris  was  instructed  that  "  as  Prince  Masserano  con- 
tinues to  hold  a  language  which  gives  very  little  reason 
to  expect  just  satisfaction  for  the  insult  committed  in 
the  midst  of  profound  peace  ...  it  is  thought  proper 

officer,  and  putting  things  in  the  situation  they  were  before  the  undertaking. 
.  .  .  Our  court,  therefore,  keeps  firmly  to  its  two  first  propositions,  and  will 
hear  of  no  foreign  matter  whatever."  Diaries  and  Correspondence  of  the 
Earl  of  Malmesbury,  i,  68-70. 

1  Harcourt  to  Weymouth,  November  27th,  1770;    Foreign  State  Papers, 
R.O.,  281. 

2  Ibid. 

3  Le  Regne  de  Louis  XV.,  H.  Carre,  390. 

4  Weymouth  to  Harcourt,  November  28th,  1770;    Foreign  State  Papers, 
R.O.,  281. 


THE  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION        391 

that  Coates  should  be  dispatched  to  you  with  this  in- 
formation, in  order  that  you  may  take  such  method,  as 
you  shall  think  most  advisable,  to  apprise,  as  privately 
as  possible,  the  lieutenant-governor  of  Gibraltar  of  this 
uncertain  state  of  affairs,  and  of  letting  him  know  that 
general  Cornwallis  and  other  officers  belonging  to 
that  garrison  are  ordered  to  their  posts,  and  are  to 
embark  immediately."  1  Moreover,  in  addition  to 
sending  these  significant  instructions  to  its  representa- 
tives abroad,  the  ministry  made  active  preparations 
at  home.  In  order  that  Ireland  might  be  put  into  a 
state  of  defence,  the  lord-lieutenant  of  that  country 
was  officially  warned  that  "  the  language  which  the 
Spanish  ambassador  holds  is  unpromising  with  regard 
to  peace  "  ; 2  an  order  in  council  was  approved,  placing 
an  embargo  on  all  provision  ships  in  Irish  port ; 3  and 
the  lieutenant-general  of  ordnance  was  instructed 
"  to  report  on  the  state  of  the  ordnance  stores  of 
all  kinds,  and  particularly  the  quantity  of  gunpowder 
ready  for  use  on  any  emergency  ;  and  also  as  to  the 
quantity  of  stores  abroad,  etc.,  and  as  to  the  supply  of 
the  different  articles  necessary  for  the  demands  which 
may  possibly  be  made  in  case  of  a  war  with  France  and 
Spain."  4 

It  was  while  the  negotiation  was  passing  through 
this  critical  and  dangerous  stage  that  parliament 
assembled,  the  session  having  been  begun  on  November 
13th ;  and  it  was  tolerably  certain  that,  difficult  as  the 

1  Weymouth  to  Harris,  November  28th,  1770;  Foreign  State  Papers, 
R.O.,  185. 

2  Calendar  of  Home  Office  Papers,  93.  3  Ibid.  97. 

4  Calendar  of  Home  Office  Papers,  96.  The  lieutenant-general  of  ord- 
nance at  this  time  was  Henry  Conway.  On  the  resignation  of  Lord  Granby,  in 
January  1770,  the  mastership  of  ordnance  had  been  offered  to  Conway  who 
had  declined  it  on  the  plea  that,  having  lived  in  friendship  with  Granby,  he 
did  not  wish  to  profit  by  his  fall.  Conway,  however,  consented  to  discharge 
the  duties  of  the  mastership  without  possessing  either  the  title  or  emoluments 
of  the  post. 


392    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

ministerial  task  had  been  in  the  past,  it  was  likely  to 
be  still  more  difficult  in  the  future.  Never  are  the 
dangers  associated  with  the  existence  of  a  systematic 
parliamentary  opposition  so  great  as  when  the  inter- 
national situation  is  complicated  and  the  clouds  of 
war  hang  low  over  Europe  ;  for  then  arises  the  peril 
that  the  opponents  of  the  administration  of  the  day, 
impelled  partly  by  hunger  for  office,  and  partly, 
perhaps,  by  the  honest  conviction  that  only  by  a 
transference  of  power  can  the  country  be  saved,  will 
resort  to  reckless  and  irresponsible  criticism,  advocate 
violent  measures  and  indiscreet  revelations,  and,  in 
their  haste  to  destroy  the  government,  run  the  risk  of 
precipitating  an  European  conflict  which  but  for  them 
might  have  been  avoided.  Such  had  been  the  fatal 
policy  pursued  by  the  enemies  of  Sir  Robert  Walpole, 
and  such  was  the  line  of  conduct  which  commended 
itself  to  the  opposition  in  the  autumn  of  1770.  Con- 
vinced that  they  had  received  a  clear  call  for  battle,  that 
no  time  could  be  more  favourable  for  an  united  attack, 
and  that  it  was  incumbent  upon  every  patriot  to  de- 
nounce the  ministers  for  having  failed  to  prepare  for 
a  struggle  which  was  certain,  both  Rockingham  and 
Chatham  were  keenly  anxious  for  an  onslaught  to  be 
made,  and  were  desirous  of  working  together  in  the 
closest  harmony.1  It  would  be  wrong,  however,  to 
imagine  that  they  were  encouraged  to  undertake  this 
venture  by  any  hope  of  immediate  victory ;  their 
intention  was  rather  to  disseminate  the  belief,  both  in 
and  out  of  parliament,  that  the  country  was  in  danger 
of  descending  from  that  proud  eminence  upon  which 
she  had  once  rested,  and  of  falling  an  easy  prey  to  the 

1  After  an  interview  with  Rockingham,  shortly  after  parliament  met, 
Chatham  declared  that  "  my  esteem  and  confidence  in  his  Lordship's  upright 
intentions  grow  from  every  conversation  with  him."  Chatham  Correspond- 
ence, 3,480-481. 


THE  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION        393 

joint  attack  of  the  two  Bourbon  powers.  It  was  by 
raising  a  panic  in  the  nation  that  they  hoped  to  drive 
North  and  his  colleagues  from  office  ;  and  it  is  difficult 
to  find  any  sufficient  excuse  for  their  conduct.  Both 
Rockingham  and  Chatham  were  experienced  statesmen 
who  could  not  but  know  that  they  would  best  serve 
their  country  by  assisting  rather  than  thwarting  the 
ministers  at  this  critical  juncture,  that  a  quarrel  over 
the  possession  of  a  barren  island  was  not  a  sufficient 
justification  for  a  European  war,  and  that  no  useful 
purpose  could  possibly  be  served  by  spreading  abroad 
alarming  rumours  about  the  incompetence  of  the 
government  and  the  defenceless  condition  of  the 
country  ;  but,  like  other  politicians  before  and  since, 
they  placed  the  interests  of  party  above  the  welfare 
of  the  state,  and  hoped  to  obtain  an  end,  which  they 
thought  to  be  good,  by  means  which  they  must  have 
known  to  be  unjustifiable. 

The  storm  did  not  break  at  once,  the  first  day  of 
the  session  being  quiet  enough  ;  but  this  calm  at  the 
beginning  was  largely  due  to  the  absence  of  Chatham, 
Temple,  and  the  followers  of  Grenville,1  who  abstained 
from  attending  out  of  respect  to  the  dead  statesman.1 
Nor  were  signs  of  a  tempest  in  the  future  altogether 
wanting.  No  fault,  indeed,  could  be  found,  even  by 
the  most  bellicose  member  of  the  opposition,  with  the 
speech  from  the  throne,  the  king  being  made  to  declare 
that  he  would  not  relinquish  his  preparations  for  war 
until  he  had  received  "  proper  reparation  for  the  injury, 
as  well  as  satisfactory  proof  that  other  powers  are 
equally  sincere  with  myself  to  preserve  the  general 
tranquillity  of  Europe  "  ; 2  but,  though  the  speech  might 

1  Walpole's  Letters,  7,  418-421. 

2  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  Choiseul  at  first  interpreted  the  king's  speech 
as  tantamount  to  a  declaration  of  war  ;  Harcourt  to  Weymouth,  November 
20th,  1770  ;   Foreign  State  Papers,  R.O.,  281. 


394     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

be  generally  approved,  the  address  of  thanks  was  not 
allowed  to  pass  without  encountering  some  hostile  and 
pungent  criticism.  Various  members  of  the  opposi- 
tion complained  that  they  had  not  been  told  of  the 
steps  that  had  been  taken  to  put  the  country  into  a 
state  of  defence  ;  and  Sir  Charles  Saunders,  a  follower 
of  Lord  Rockingham,  who,,  for  a  brief  period,  had  held 
the  office  of  first  lord  of  the  admiralty  in  Chatham's 
administration,  expressed  his  regret  that  preparations 
for  war  had  not  been  begun  upon  the  arrival  of  Hunt  in 
England  at  the  beginning  of  June.1 

Unfair  as  much  of  this  criticism  was,  it  has  the 
interest  of  being  indicative  of  the  line  of  attack  that 
the  opposition  intended  to  follow.  The  contest  against 
the  government  was  waged  in  both  houses,  but  it  was 
in  the  upper  house  that  the  fight  was  fiercest.  On 
Thursday,  November  22nd,  the  Duke  of  Richmond, 
having  previously  consulted  with  Chatham,  introduced 
three  motions,  so  framed  that,  if  they  were  carried,  the 
ministers  would  be  obliged  to  reveal  how  far  they 
had  been  aware  of  the  danger  which  threatened  Port 
Egmont  before  the  actual  news  of  its  fall  was  known 
in  England  ;  and  the  debate  certainly  made  up  in 
acrimony  whatever  it  may  have  lacked  in  effectiveness. 
Thus  Richmond,  while  energetically  disclaiming  any 
desire  to  complicate  the  negotiations,  modestly  declared 
that  he  was  content  merely  to  reveal  to  the  world  the 
sloth  and  treachery  of  the  royal  advisers ;  and  Chatham, 
exclaiming  that  "  something  must  be  done,  my  lords, 
and  immediately,  to  save  an  injured,  insulted,  un- 
done country,"  thundered  in  fury  against  "  those 
servants  of  the  crown,  by  whose  ignorance,  neglect,  or 
treachery  this  once  great  flourishing  people  are  reduced 

1  Cavendish  Debates,   2,   37-54  ;    Pari.  Hist.,  xvi.  1030-108 1  ;    Walpole's 
Memoirs,  iv.  128-130  ;    Chatham  Correspondence,  3,  489-492. 


THE  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION        395 

to  a  condition  as  deplorable  at  home  as  it  is  despic- 
able abroad."  Nor  was  Shelburne  behindhand  in 
denunciation  ;  for  although  he  discarded  the  bludgeon 
for  the  rapier,  he  was  equally,  if  not  more,  effective  in 
criticism,  remarking  with  withering  sarcasm  that  a  war 
would  be  but  a  small  price  to  pay  for  the  downfall  of 
the  ministry.1 

Yet,  in  spite  of  the  scorn  thus  so  lavishly  heaped 
upon  the  government,  the  opposition  only  numbered 
twenty-one  on  a  division,  and  this  very  meagre  figure 
was  not  exceeded  when  on  Wednesday,  November  28th, 
Chatham,  acting  on  a  suggestion  thrown  out  by 
Rockingham,2  moved  that  Captain  Hunt  should  be 
summoned  to  the  bar  of  the  house,  and  that  the 
ministers  should  state  when  they  first  learnt  that  the 
Spaniards  intended  to  take  Port  Egmont  by  storm.3 
Nor  was  the  Duke  of  Manchester  any  more  successful 
when,  in  accordance  with  a  plan  suggested  by  Chatham, 
and  approved  by  Rockingham,4  he  moved  that  a 
strong  naval  force  should  be  stationed  at  Gibraltar, 
Minorca,  and  Jamaica,  only  fourteen  votes  being  given 
for  the  motion.5  Moreover,  in  the  house  of  commons 
the  ministry  was  equally  victorious.  On  Thursday, 
November  22nd,  Dowdeswell  moved  for  "  copies  of 
the  intelligence  received  by  his  majesty's  ministers 
previous  to  the  twelfth  of  September  .  .  .  touching 
any  hostility  commenced  or  designed  to  be  commenced 
by  the  crown  of  Spain  against  any  part  of  the  British 
dominions,"  but  his  motion  was  easily  rejected,  the 
previous  question  being  carried  by  two  hundred  and 

1  Pari.  Hist.,  xvi.  1081-1119;    Walpole's  Memoirs,  4,  133-136;   Walpole's 
Letters,  7,  423-424. 

2  Chatham  Correspondence,  4,  26-29. 

3  Walpole's  Memoirs,  4,  139-140. 

4  Chatham  Correspondence,  4,  46-48. 

5  Walpole's  Memoirs,  4,  1 50-151;  Pari.  Hist.,  xvi.   1321-1322. 


396     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

twenty-five  votes  to  a  hundred  and  one  ; x  and  when, 
a  week  later,  he  asked  for  information  about  the  state 
and  disposition  of  the  Spanish  fleets,  only  forty-three 
members  were  found  to  vote  against  a  motion  for 
adjourning  the  debate.2 

Such  were  the  first-fruits  of  a  crusade  from  which 
so  much  had  been  expected  ;  and  it  was  indeed  a  barren 
harvest.  Victory,  indeed,  had  not  been  expected  by 
those  who  had  planned  and  executed  this  venture, 
but  they  certainly  had  not  anticipated  such  a  com- 
plete and  overwhelming  repulse.  An  opposition,  which 
dwindled  rather  than  increased  in  numbers,  was  not 
likely  to  acquire  that  national  confidence  so  essential 
to  its  success  ;  and  Chatham  can  hardly  be  blamed  for 
believing  all  to  be  lost,  and  concluding,  in  the  bitter- 
ness of  his  soul,  that  the  times  were  "  pollution  in  the 
very  quintessence." 3  Yet  the  catastrophe  was  by 
no  means  inexplicable.  It  must  have  been  clear  to 
impartial  observers  that  the  designs  of  the  opposition 
were  far  more  factious  than  patriotic,  and  that,  even 
assuming  that  no  adequate  preparations  for  war  had 
been  made,  it  was  not  a  fitting  time  to  proclaim  the 
fact  to  the  world  at  large.4  Such  considerations,  how- 
ever, though  they  may  be  held  to  account  for  the  con- 

1  Cavendish  Debates,  2,  57-88  ;  Pari.  Hist.,  xvi.  1119-1124. 

2  Cavendish  Debates,  2,  177-184. 

3  Chatham  Correspondence,  4,  31-32. 

4  In  the  course  of  a  debate  in  the  house  of  commons,  on  December  12th, 
the  opposition  represented  the  navy  as  being  in  a  deplorable  condition,  and, 
on  the  previous  day,  Chatham  declared  in  the  house  of  lords  that  half  our 
ships  were  rotten.  It  would  have  been  better  to  have  deferred  making  such 
accusations  until  peace  was  assured,  but  they  certainly  were  not  devoid  of 
truth.  Sir  Edward  Hawke,  though  a  distinguished  naval  commander  in  his 
day,  had  not  proved  himself  in  his  old  age  an  efficient  first  lord  of  the 
admiralty,  and  there  appears  to  be  no  doubt  that,  though  on  paper  our  navy 
was  adequate,  many  of  our  ships  were  unseaworthy  and  much  undermanned. 
For  some  interesting  details  about  the  navy  at  this  time,  see  a  speech  by 
Lord  Sandwich  in  1775,  reported  in  Pari.  Hist.,  xviii.  p.  280;  and  also 
Walpole's  Memoirs,  iv.  136-137  ;    Cavendish  Debates,  2,  194-213. 


THE  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION        397 

spicuous  failure  of  the  opposition  to  win  new  recruits, 
cannot  be  advanced  to  explain  the  actual  declension 
in  its  numerical  strength,  which  is  rather  to  be  attri- 
buted to  that  lack  of  unity,  the  cause  of  so  many  of  its 
disasters  in  the  past.  Close  and  cordial  as  were  the 
relations  between  Rockingham  and  Chatham,1  they 
had  failed  to  rally  the  full  strength  of  the  opposition 
to  their  support.  Both  Temple  and  Camden  had 
declined  attending  the  debates  in  the  upper  house  ; 2 
and,  what  was  of  far  greater  moment,  the  conduct  of 
the  former  followers  of  George  Grenville  had  been 
strangely  hesitating  and  uncertain.  It  would  not  be 
true  to  describe  them  as  having  broken  with  the 
opposition,  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  they  were 
pursuing  a  policy  of  waiting  upon  events,  and  by 
no  means  anxious  to  bind  themselves  by  words  to 
definite  allegiance  either  to  Chatham  or  Rockingham. 
Wedderburn  and  Lord  George  Sackville  had,  indeed, 
supported  Dowdeswell  in  the  house  of  commons,  but 
other  members  of  the  same  party  were  conspicuously 
absent  when  Chatham  moved  for  Captain  Hunt  to  be 

1  According  to  Horace  Walpole  (Memoirs,  4,  133-136),  Chatham,  in  the 
debate  on  November  22nd,  spoke  with  contempt  of  the  opposition,  and  de- 
declared  his  freedom  from  any  party  connections  ;  but  this  statement  appears 
to  be  a  very  decided  exaggeration.  Quite  apart  from  what  we  know  of  the 
intimate  relations  between  the  two  opposition  leaders  at  this  time,  there  is 
nothing  in  the  account  of  the  debate  in  the  Parliamentary  History  to  show 
that  Chatham  bore  in  any  way  hardly  upon  the  Rockingham  whigs.  It  is 
true  that  he  spoke  warmly  in  favour  of  impressment,  a  practice  which  the 
Duke  of  Richmond  had  opposed  ;  and  that  he  remarked  that  "  an  administra- 
tion formed  on  an  exclusive  system  of  family  connections,  or  private  friendships, 
cannot,  I  am  convinced,  be  long  supported  in  this  country"  ;  but  he  also 
referred  to  "  men  who,  if  their  own  services  were  forgotten,  ought  to  have 
a  hereditary  merit  with  the  house  of  Hanover,"  and,  though  he  denounced 
the  practice  of  restricting  admission  to  high  office  to  the  members  of  a  few 
great  families,  he  expressly  said  that  "  no  man  respects  or  values  more  than  I 
do  that  honourable  connection  which  arises  from  a  disinterested  concurrence 
in  opinion  upon  public  measures,  or  from  the  sacred  bond  of  private  friend- 
ship and  esteem."     Pari.  Hist.,  xvi.  1081-1119. 

2  Chatham    Correspondence,    4,    29-30;     31-32;     Walpole's    Memoirs,    4, 
139-140;    Walpole's  Letters,  7,  423-424. 


398     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

called  to  the  bar  of  the  house  ; *  and,  although  Lord 
Lyttleton  had  spoken  in  support  of  the  Duke  of 
Richmond's  motion,  it  is  to  his  credit  that  he  differ- 
entiated himself  from  all  the  other  speakers  against 
the  government  by  expressing  the  opinion  that  it  was 
not  becoming  in  wise  and  responsible  statesmen  to 
"  intimidate  the  people  by  our  fears  when  we  ought  to 
fire  them  by  our  resolution." 

From  these  scattered  hints  it  may  be  gathered 
that  the  Grenvilles  had  by  no  means  enthusiastically 
co-operated  with  the  other  parties  in  opposition,  and 
upon  them  must  rest  no  small  share  of  the  responsibility 
for  the  fiasco.  But,  unfortunate  as  the  enterprise 
had  been,  the  hope  of  ultimate  victory  was  not  quite 
dead  ;  for,  were  the  peace  of  Europe  to  be  broken, 
Chatham  might  once  again  come  into  power  upon  the 
shoulders  of  the  people.  And,  to  the  dismay  of  all  wise 
men,  war  now  appeared  to  be  almost  inevitable.  The 
rejection  of  the  second  Spanish  offer  was  followed  by 
that  ominous  calm  which  so  often  precedes  the  storm. 
The  negotiation  with  Spain  was  discontinued,2  and,  in 
each  of  the  three  countries  most  intimately  concerned, 
preparations  for  war  were  actively  hurried  on.  Harris, 
though  still  retaining  his  belief  in  Grimaldi's  pacific 
disposition,  began  to  fear  that  the  warlike  party  in 
Spain  would  carry  the  day,3  and  Choiseul,  convinced 

1  Walpole's  Memoirs,  4,  139-140. 

2  Thus,  on  December  21st,  Lord  Rochford,  who  had  succeeded  Weymouth 
as  secretary  of  state  for  the  southern  department,  informed  Lord  Harcourt 
that  "  negotiation  has  long  been  at  an  end  between  us  and  the  Court  of  Spain." 
Foreign  State  Papers,  R.O.,  281. 

3  "  M.  Grimaldi,  however,"  wrote  Harris  to  Weymouth  on  December  17th, 
"  I  am  convinced  will  strain  every  nerve  to  accommodate  this  affair.  .  .  . 
Nevertheless,  I  fear  the  restless  and  ambitious  temper  of  Monsieur  D'Aranda, 
who  has,  on  one  hand,  represented  to  the  king  that  the  honour  of  the  Spanish 
nation  would  be  exposed  by  acceding  to  our  propositions,  and,  on  the  other, 
painted  the  state  of  both  its  army  and  it  finances  in  the  most  flattering  and 
.    .    .    false  colours  !     I  fear,  I  say,  these  arguments  will  have  more  weight 


THE  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION        399 

of  the  futility  of  endeavouring  to  maintain  peace, 
definitely  determined  upon  hostilities.  Aware  that 
he  no  longer  enjoyed  the  favour  of  the  king,  and  be- 
lieving Spain  to  be  resolved  upon  war,  he  thought  to 
re-establish  himself  in  his  former  omnipotence  by 
remaining  faithful  to  the  Pacte  de  Famille,  and  uniting 
with  Spain  to  humiliate  the  pride  of  England.  He 
was  not  blind  to  the  dangers  which  beset  the  road  he 
had  chosen.  He  knew  that  Louis  XV.  was  averse  to 
war,  and  that  his  political  opponents,  who  were  seeking 
to  drive  him  from  office,  were  of  the  same  opinion  ;  x 
but  he  thought  to  persuade  the  king  that  nothing 
could  be  done  to  avert  a  conflict  between  England  and 
Spain,  and  that  France  was  compelled,  both  by  honour 
and  by  interest,  to  come  to  the  assistance  of  her  ally 
and  neighbour.  If  his  arguments  carried  conviction, 
great  would  be  his  triumph  ;  for  he  might  well  hope 
that  one  immediate  consequence  of  the  outbreak  of 
war  would  be  the  return  of  his  former  political 
supremacy.  Engaged  in  a  great  conflict  with  the  old 
enemy,  England,  neither  Louis  XV.  nor  his  people 
would  be  inclined  to  dispense  with  the  services  of  the 
most  experienced  statesman  which  France  possessed. 

It  was  just  when  the  international  situation  had 
assumed  this  aspect  of  extreme  gravity  that  Lord 
Weymouth  astonished  his  countrymen  by  abandoning 
office,  resigning  the  seals  on  December  16th,  1770. 
For  this  dramatic  and  unexpected  retreat  no  really 
adequate  explanation  has  ever  yet  been  given.     It  has 


than  they  ought  ;    and  greatly  obstruct,  if  not  totally  prevent,  an  amicable 
conclusion  of  this  affair."     Foreign  State  Papers,  R.O.,  185. 

1  "  I  am  informed,"  wrote  Harcourt  to  Rochford  on  December  16th, 
"  that  the  king  continues  extremely  averse  to  the  thoughts  of  a  war  ;  and  the 
party  in  opposition  make  no  difficulty  of  declaring  that  a  war  .  .  .  will  com- 
plete the  ruin  of  it."  Foreign  State  Papers,  R.O.,  281.  See  also  Le  Rigne 
de  Louis  ZF.,H.  Carre,  p.  390. 


400     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

been  asserted  that  Weymouth  fell  a  victim  to  the  peace 
party  in  the  cabinet,  and  that,  for  refusing  to  give  way 
to  Spain,  he  was  driven  from  office  by  Lord  North 
and  the  king,  who  had  been  converted  to  a  policy  of 
conciliation  by  the  fear  that  a  war  with  the  two  Bourbon 
powers  might  involve  the  return  of  Chatham  to  power.1 
Such  an  explanation,  however,  is  exceedingly  difficult 
to  accept.  If  the  English  demands  had  been  diminished 
in  extent  after  Weymouth's  departure  from  the  cabinet, 
it  would,  doubtless,  be  reasonable  to  assume  that  his 
resignation  was  due  to  a  division  of  opinion  in  the 
ministry  ;  but  no  such  modification  took  place,  and, 
therefore,  little  faith  can  be  placed  in  an  interpretation 
which  is  both  unsupported  by  evidence,  and  in  conflict 
with  well-established  fact.  What  is  far  more  probable 
is  that  Weymouth,  believing  war  to  be  inevitable,  and 
realising  that  his  indolent  and  profligate  habits 
rendered  him  totally  unfit  to  occupy  an  office  of  great 
responsibility  in  a  moment  of  stress,  adopted  the  un- 
heroic  course  of  seeking  safety  in  retirement ; 2  and 
though  it  is  not  possible  to  bring  forward  any  evidence 
in  support  of  this  view,  it  is  at  least  not  inherently 
improbable.  But,  amidst  much  which  is  so  doubtful, 
we  know  at  any  rate  that  no  abatement  in  the  English 
demands  followed  upon  Weymouth's  resignation.  To 
fill  his  vacant  place  Lord  Rochford  was  transferred 
from  the  secretaryship  of  state  for  the  northern  de- 
partment which  was  given  to  Lord  Sandwich ;  and 
Rochford  proved  himself  as  determined  as  ever  his 
predecessor  had  been,  to  obtain  reparation  for  the  insult 
to  England.  At  a  cabinet  meeting  on  December  19th, 
it  was  decided  to  recall  Harris3  who,  in  a  dispatch 

aWalpole's  Memoirs,  4,    157-158.     For  a  slightly  different  account,   see 
Almon's  Anecdotes  and  Speeches  of  the  Earl  of  Chatham,  2,  249-250. 

2  Walpole's  Memoirs,  4,  158. 

3  Calendar  of  Home  Office  Papers,  102. 


THE  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION        401 

written  by  Rochford,  two  days  later,  was  instructed  to 
leave  Madrid  after  formally  taking  leave.1 

The  withdrawal  of  the  English  representative  at  the 
Spanish  court  could  only  be  interpreted  as  a  preliminary 
to  a  declaration  of  war  ;  and  it  may  fairly  be  assumed 
that  the  cabinet  was  led  to  adopt  this  extreme  measure 
by  the  conviction  that  any  further  delay  was  useless, 
and  that  the  sooner  war  began  the  better.  It  is  not 
easy  to  censure  such  pessimism,  seeing  how  black  the 
outlook  was  ;  but,  nevertheless,  the  ministers  stand 
convicted  of  having  neglected  some  very  essential 
factors  in  the  situation.  They  took  for  granted,  not 
only  that  Spain  was  bent  upon  hostilities,  but  that 
France  would  come  to  her  assistance  ;  and  in  this 
latter  particular  they  were  guilty  of  a  fundamental 
error.  It  was  not  the  French  king  but  Choiseul  who 
had  decided  upon  war  ;  and  the  last  word  did  not  rest 
with  him  but  with  his  master.  Were  he  to  fail  to 
persuade  Louis  XV.  that  war  was  the  only  alternative, 
it  was  extremely  probable  that  Spain,  deprived  of  the 
hope  of  French  assistance,  might  show  herself  far  more 
ready  to  come  to  terms  with  England  ;  and  it  was  this 
possibility  that  the  ministers  failed  to  include  in  their 
reckoning.  They  thought  that  war  was  inevitable, 
whereas,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  it  was  not.  Louis  XV. 
was  well  aware  that  the  outbreak  of  hostilities  would 
involve  the  cessation  of  his  conflict  with  the  parlements, 
and,  consequently,  a  decline  in  the  prestige  of  the  crown  ; 
and,  compelled  to  come  to  a  final  determination,  he 
decided  for  peace  abroad  and  war  at  home.  He  gave 
orders  for  a  letter  to  be  written  to  the  King  of  Spain, 
imploring  him  to  make  every  possible  sacrifice  in  the 
cause  of  peace ;  commanded  D'Ossun  to  use  all  his 
influence  to  promote  a  speedy  settlement  with  England  ; 

1  Diaries  and  Correspondence  of  the  Earl  of  Malmesbury,  i,  71-73. 
2  C 


402     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

and,  having  taken  these  steps  to  avert  the  approaching 
war,  dismissed  Choiseul  from  office  on  December  24th, 
1770.1 

Four  days  later,  the  news  of  ChoiseuTs  fall  was 
known  in  England  ; 2  and  though  amateur  politicians 
were  at  first  puzzled  to  determine  the  precise  influence 
of  this  cabinet  revolution  upon  the  international 
situation,3  the  ministers  were  not  long  in  learning  that 
it  was  likely  to  be  a  very  powerful  factor  in  the  pro- 
motion of  peace.  "  It  has  been  intimated  to  me," 
wrote  Harcourt  to  Rochford  on  December  26th,  "  by 
a  person  well  acquainted  with  this  court,  that,  as  soon 
as  the  new  minister  is  appointed  for  the  foreign  affairs, 
I  shall  receive  the  strongest  assurances  of  the  pacinck 
disposition  of  this  court," 4  and  this  cheering  intelligence 
was  confirmed  by  a  change  for  the  better  in  the  attitude 
of  Masserano,who  now,  in  the  words  of  a  well-informed 
contemporary,  "  declares  that  he  expects  daily  orders 
from  his  court  to  give  us  the  satisfaction  we  demand."  5 

Thus,  at  the  bidding  of  an  aged  voluptuary,  the 
clouds  of  war  began  to  disperse,  and  the  English 
ministers  had  good  reason  to  regret  their  hasty  action 
in  recalling  Harris.  It  might  well  happen,  for  such  is 
the  instability  of  the  foundations  upon  which  the  peace 
of  nations  and  the  happiness  of  thousands  rest,  that 
the  prospect  of  a  happy  settlement  might  be  suddenly 

1  Le  Regne  de  Louis  XV.,  H.  Carre,  389-391. 

2  Harcourt  to  Rochford,  December  24th,  1770.  For  the  date  of  the 
arrival  of  this  dispatch,  see  Walpole's  Letters,  7,  430-432. 

3  The  Due  de  Choiseul  is  fallen.  .  .  .  There  !  there  is  a  revolution  !  there 
is  a  new  scene  opened.  Will  it  advance  the  war  ?  Will  it  make  peace  ? 
These  are  the  questions  all  mankind  is  asking.  Walpole's  Letters,  7,430-432. 
It  is  interesting  to  notice  that  Chatham  still  persisted  in  believing  war  to  be 
certain.     Chatham  Correspondence,  4,  64-65. 

4  Harcourt  to  Rochford,  December  26th,   1770;    Foreign  State  Papers, 

R.O.,  281. 

5  Thomas  Bradshaw  to  the  Duke  of  Grafton,  January  5th,  1771  ;  Grafton's 
Autobiography,  260-261.  Bradshaw  was  a  secretary  of  the  treasury  and 
enjoyed  Grafton's  intimate  confidence. 


THE  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION        403 

blasted  by  a  trivial  question  of  diplomatic  etiquette. 
When  on  January  3rd,  1771,  the  Spanish  ambassador 
was  informed  that  a  dispatch  had  already  left  England, 
instructing  Harris  to  return  home,  he  did  not  disguise 
his  deep  annoyance,  and  declared  that,  "  should  he  now 
receive  full  power  to  acquiesce  in  our  demand,  he 
should  look  upon  himself  as  tied  up  till  he  knew  the 
sentiments  of  his  court  relating  to  the  recall  of  Mr 
Harris,"  '  but,  fortunately,  he  did  not  continue  in  this 
unbending  attitude.  With  the  authorisation  of  his 
government  which,  now  that  it  could  no  longer  depend 
upon  France,  was  prepared  to  come  to  terms,2  he  signed, 
on  January  22nd,  1771,  a  declaration  by  which  the 
conduct  of  Buccarelli  was  disavowed  and  the  restoration 
of  Port  Egmont  was  promised,  but,  at  the  same  time, 
it  was  expressly  stated  that  "  the  engagement  of  his 
said  Catholick  majesty  to  restore  to  his  Brittanic 
majesty  the  possession  of  the  fort  and  port  called 
Egmont  cannot  or  ought  in  any  wise  to  affect 
the  question   of   the   prior   right   of   the   sovereignty 

1  Rochford  to  Harcourt,  January  7th,  1771  ;  Foreign  State  Papers,  R.O., 
282. 

2  When  the  Spanish  ministry  dispatched  this  authorisation  to  Masserano, 
it  was  not  aware  that  Harris  had  been  recalled  ;  and  this  statement  can  be 
proved  by  a  comparison  of  dates.  It  was  not  until  January  12th,  that  Harris 
informed  Grimaldi  that  he  had  been  recalled,  and  in  a  dispatch  to  Rochford, 
dated  the  same  day,  the  English  ambassador  in  France  states  :  "  The  night 
before  last  a  messenger  arrived  from  Spain,  and  yesterday  morning  the  Spanish 
ambassador  had  an  audience  of  the  king  that  lasted  one  hour  and  a  half. 
I  am  assured  that  the  Spaniards  will  acquiesce  to  our  demands,  and  that 
the  Prince  de  Masserano  will  have  orders  to  signify  as  much  to  your  lord- 
ship." It  may,  I  think,  be  taken  as  fairly  certain  that  this  messenger  was 
on  his  way  to  England  with  instructions  to  Masserano,  and  it  is  obvious  that 
he  must  have  left  Spain  some  days  before  Harris  informed  Grimaldi  that  he 
had  been  recalled.  Moreover,  according  to  Walpole,  it  was  at  the  advice  of 
the  French  king  that  Masserano  consented  to  make  use  of  the  full  powers 
granted  to  him,  and  we  have  on  the  same  authority,  the  doubtful,  though 
dramatic,  story  that  two  days  after  the  Spanish  ambassador  had  signed  the 
declaration,  he  received  orders  commanding  him  to  return  to  Spain  without 
delay.  Foreign  State  Papers,  R.O.,  282  ;  Diaries  and  Correspondence  of  the 
Earl  of  Malmesbury,  1,  71-73  ;   Walpole's  Memoirs,  4,  175. 


404    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

of   the   Malouine    Islands,   otherwise   called   Falkland 
Islands."  1 

This  happy  conclusion  to  a  negotiation  which  at 
one  time  seemed  about  to  end  in  a  rupture  between 
three  great  nations  and  the  horrors  of  an  European 
war,  was  approved  by  all  wise  men  ;  but  to  Chatham 
and  his  political  allies,  their  eyes  blinded  by  the 
passions  aroused  by  domestic  strife,  it  was  more  an 
occasion  for  sorrow  than  for  joy.  They  had  not  un- 
reasonably hoped  that  the  outbreak  of  war  would  give 
the  signal  for  the  downfall  of  the  ministry,  and  they 
were  now  called  upon  to  undergo  the  mortification  of 
witnessing  the  conclusion  of  a  settlement  which  only 
by  blind  and  embittered  partisanship  could  be  repre- 
sented as  dishonourable  or  inadequate.  Nor  was  the 
blow  any  easier  to  bear  from  coinciding  with  another 
and  a  greater  misfortune — the  defection  of  several  of 
the  leading  members  of  the  Grenville  party.  Such  a 
secession  had  for  long  been  regarded  as  possible  and 
even  probable.  Almost  from  the  very  beginning  of 
the  session,  sinister,  and  unfortunately  well  founded, 
rumours  had  been  circulated  that  Wedderburn  was 
about  to  make  his  peace  with  the  court,2  and  there  is 
good  reason  to  believe  that  the  ministers  were  well 
aware  of  their  adversary's  readiness  to  be  bought.3 
Nor  had  Wedderburn  been  the  only  object  of  suspicion. 
Writing  to   Mann  at   Florence   about   the  middle  of 

1  Annual  Register  for  1771,  p.  238. 

2  Chatham  Correspondence,  4,  20-23;  3Q-31-  Wedderburn  stated  his 
own  point  of  view  in  a  letter  to  Lord  Clive,  written  on  November  14th,  1770. 
"  I  have  not  yet  been,  "  he  wrote,  "  in  the  house  of  commons  ;  and  if  people 
would  impute  my  absence  to  its  true  cause,  a  real  indifference  to  all  that 
passes  there  at  present,  I  should  continue  for  some  time  in  the  same  ignorance. 
...  It  is  possible,  I  believe,  even  in  these  times,  for  a  man  to  acquire  some 
degree  of  credit,  without  being  enlisted  in  any  party  ;  and,  if  it  is,  the  situa- 
tion, I  am  sure,  is  more  eligible  than  any  other  that  either  a  court  or  an  opposi- 
tion have  to  bestow."     Quoted  in  the  Cavendish  Debates,  2,  81-82. 

3  Correspondence  of  George  III.  with  Lord  North,  1,  45. 


THE  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION        405 

January,  1771,  Horace  Walpole  had  mentioned  that 
"  Mr  Grenville's  friends  point  due  west  to  St  James's  "  1 
and  before  his  letter  reached  its  destination  what  he 
hinted  at  had  come  to  pass.     In  a  letter  to  Lord  Temple, 
dated   January   22nd,   1771,   Lord   Suffolk,   who  was 
commonly  looked  upon  as  Grenville's  successor  in  the 
leadership  of  the  party,  announced  that  he  had  that 
day  formally  accepted  the  office  of  lord  privy  seal ; 2 
and,  a  few  days  later,  it  was  announced  that  Wedder- 
burn  had  been  appointed  solicitor-general,  that  Thomas 
Whately,    who    was    well-known    to    have    enjoyed 
Grenville's    closest    confidence,    had    been    named    a 
commissioner   of   the   board   of   trade,    and    that   to 
Augustus  Hervey,  afterwards  Lord  Bristol,  had  been 
given  a  lordship  of  the  admiralty.3     At  the  same  time, 
moreover,  some  important  internal  changes  were  made 
in  the  ministry.     The  great  seal,  which  had  been  in 
commission  since  the  dismissal  of  Camden,  was  given 
to  Henry  Bathurst  who  was  raised  to  the  peerage  as 
Lord  Apsley  ;    and  though,  as  a  lawyer,  Bathurst  was 
beneath    contempt,    being    probably    the    most    in- 
significant man  who  has  ever  sat  on  the  woolsack,  he 
could  be   trusted   to  stand  by  the  court  which  had 
rewarded  him  so  richly   for   his   services.     Onlookers 
might  be  astonished  at  the  sight  of  the  greatest  prize 
of  the  legal  profession  being  given  to  a  notoriously 
incompetent  lawyer,  but  no  surprise  was  felt  at  the 
promotion  of  Edward  Thurlow,  who  had  already  given 
ample  proof  of  having  great  abilities  and  few  scruples, 
from  the  office  of  solicitor  to  that  of  attorney-general. 
Nor  could  any  objection   be  taken  to   the   appoint- 
ment of  Lord  Sandwich  as  first  lord  of  the  admiralty 
in   place  of   Sir  Edward  Hawke  now  almost    in    his 

1  Walpole's  Letters,  8,  1-3.  2  Grenville  Papers,  4,  529-530. 

3  Chatham  Correspondence,  4,  74-76  ;   80-82. 


406    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

dotage  ; 1  though  it  was  possible  to  doubt  the  wisdom 
of  transferring  Lord  Halifax,  who,  according  to  Horace 
Walpole,  "  knew  nothing,  was  too  old  to  learn,  and 
too  sottish  and  too  proud  to  suspect  what  he 
wanted,"  2  from  the  comparatively  sinecure  office  of 
lord  privy  seal  to  be  secretary  of  state  in  place  of  Lord 
Sandwich. 

The  internal  reconstruction  of  the  administration, 
important  though  it  was,  attracted  far  less  attention 
than  the  admission  of  Wedderburn  and  his  friends  into 
office,  and  it  was  round  these  new  recruits  that  the 
interest  centred.  All  of  them  were  denounced  as  vile 
and  self-seeking  apostates,  but  Wedderburn  above 
the  rest.  Yet  that  shrewd  Scotchman,  and  those 
who  stood  with  him  in  the  same  condemnation,  were 
certainly  not  incapable  of  making  a  rational  defence, 
being  able,  indeed,  to  bring  forward  arguments  of  un- 
doubted force  in  support  of  their  action.  It  must  in 
fairness  be  remembered  that  when  George  Grenville 
and  his  followers  had  thrown  in  their  lot  with  the 
opposition,  they  had  been  impelled  to  take  this  step, 
partly  by  the  wish  to  speeden  the  downfall  of  the 
government,  so  that  room  might  be  made  for  a  cabinet 
in  which  Grenville  should  have  the  predominant 
influence,  and  partly  by  a  sincere  desire  to  take  their 
part  in  protecting  the  rights  of  electors  against  the 
oligarchical  usurpation  of  the  house  of  commons.  The 
death  of  Grenville,  however,  and  the  apathy  with 
which  the  nation  had  come  to  regard  the  once  burning 
question  of  the  Middlesex  election,  now  rendered  it 

1  "  The  admiralty,  in  which  he  had  formerly  presided  with  credit,  was  the 
favourite  object  of  Lord  Sandwich's  ambition  :  and  his  passion  for  maritime 
affairs,  his  activity,  industry,  and  flowing  complaisance,  endeared  him  to 
the  profession,  re-established  the  marine,  and  effaced  great  part  of  his  un- 
popularity."    Walpole's  Memoirs,  iv.  170. 

2  Walpole' s  Memoirs,  iv.  173. 


THE  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION        407 

impossible  for  either  of  these  ends  to  be  attained  ;  and, 
therefore,  the  causes,  which  had  originated  and  main- 
tained an  alliance,  essentially  artificial,  ceased  to  be 
operative.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  old  sources 
of  dissension,  the  difference  of  opinion  upon  colonial 
policy,  and  the  jealousy  between  the  rival  parties,  still 
existed  in  undiminished  vigour  ;  and  it  is,  therefore, 
hardly  surprising  that,  after  the  death  of  their  leader, 
and  the  collapse  of  any  widespread  interest  in  the 
wrongs  of  Wilkes,  some  of  Grenville's  followers  sought 
for  admission  into  a  government  with  which  they  had 
really  far  more  in  common  than  with  their  supposed 
allies.  Yet,  though  justified  by  reason,  the  secession 
proved  a  death-blow  to  the  Grenville  faction  which 
from  this  time  ceased  to  exist  as  an  independent 
political  party.  Some  of  its  members  elected  to  play, 
for  a  time  at  least,  an  independent  part,  alternately 
criticising  and  supporting  the  court,  and  others  pre- 
ferred to  follow  in  the  wake  of  Wedderburn  ;  but  each 
man  did  what  was  right  in  his  own  eyes,  and  that 
which  had  been  a  political  organisation,  endowed  with 
an  unity  and  coherence  of  its  own,  was  dissolved  into 
separate  and  disconnected  fragments. 

Thus  with  Grenville  died  his  party,  and  the  loss  to 
the  opposition  was  wellnigh  irreparable,  reduced  as  it 
now  was  to  the  followers  of  Chatham  and  Rockingham. 
Moreover,  the  danger  was  not  remote  that  even  this 
alliance  might  break  asunder.  Temple  had  retired 
from  public  life  on  the  death  of  his  brother ; x  and 
Camden,  though  friendly  enough  with  the  Rockinghams, 
was  aggrieved  with  Chatham  with  whom  he  declared 
himself  to  be  no  longer  connected.2  If  dissension  broke 
out  in  this  reduced  and  attenuated  band,  it  would, 

1  Chatham  Correspondence,  4,  37;    Grenville  Papers,  4,  530-531. 

2  Rockingham  Memoirs,  2,  197-198;    Walpole's  Memoirs,  iv.  140-141. 


408    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

indeed,  be  vain  to  continue  the  struggle  ;  and  it  was 
somewhat  difficult  to  see  how  the  unity,  so  much 
desired,  could  be  retained  unless  a  new  cry  against 
the  government  could  be  discovered  upon  which  all 
were  agreed.  Experience  shows,  however,  that  when 
a  grievance  is  needed  it  can  generally  be  found  ;  and 
just  as  the  convention  with  Spain  in  1739  had  been 
converted  into  a  weapon  of  attack  against  Walpole, 
so  now  the  opposition  agreed  to  unite  in  throwing 
ridicule  and  scorn  upon  the  declaration  recently 
signed  by  the  Spanish  ambassador  and  approved  by 
the  cabinet.  For  such  a  policy  it  is  almost  impossible 
to  find  any  sufficient  excuse.  Spain  had  fulfilled  the 
original  demands  of  England,  the  dignity  of  the  nation 
had  been  preserved,  and  a  totally  unnecessary,  and 
therefore  entirely  wicked,  war  averted ;  and  though 
many  and  weighty  are  the  crimes  with  which  North 
and  his  colleagues  can  be  truly  charged,  it  ought  never 
to  be  forgotten  that,  at  least  in  one  instance,  they  co- 
operated to  prevent  the  catastrophe  of  useless  blood- 
shed. But  their  very  virtue  was  an  offence  in  the  eyes 
of  men  who  had  seen  in  a  war  their  own  salvation  ; 
and  directly  it  was  known  that  the  declaration  was  to 
be  submitted  to  both  houses  of  parliament  on  Friday, 
January  25th,  the  preparations  for  attack  were  begun. 
In  letters  to  his  friends  Chatham  was  unsparing  in 
his  objections  to  the  terms  which  the  ministers  had 
accepted,  declaring  that  the  article  which  reserved 
the  question  of  the  right  of  sovereignty  in  the  Falkland 
Islands,  was  "  lower  and  more  abject,  as  well  as  more 
dangerous  in  consequence  and  extent  than  I  could 
imagine  even  our  ministry  could  have  furnished  hearts 
to  conceive,  heads  to  contrive,  or  hands  to  execute  "  ; x 

1  Chatham  Correspondence,  4,  73-74.     His  bitterness  may  have  been  in- 
creased by  the  belief,  for  which  Barre  was  responsible,  that  the  article  in 


THE  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION        409 

and  roundly  asserting,  without  a  shadow  of  evidence 
to  support  his  theory,  that  "  the  whole  will  be  found 
to  be  an  ignominious  collusion  with  the  present  views 
of  France."  x  So  thinking,  he  naturally  accepted  with 
eagerness  an  invitation  to  attend  a  meeting  of  the 
opposition  peers,  which  was  to  be  held  at  the  Duke 
of  Richmond's  house  on  the  evening  of  Thursday, 
January  24th,  and  warmly  encouraged  his  devoted 
follower,  Calcraft,  to  attend  an  assembly  of  members 
of  the  house  of  commons,  summoned  by  Dowdeswell 
for  a  similar  purpose.2 

At  these  conferences  projects  were  discussed  and 
plans  settled  ;  and  the  design  of  the  opposition  was 
well  expressed  by  the  Duke  of  Richmond  who  told 
Chatham  that  "  it  seems  necessary,  after  the  late 
defection,  that  we  should  show  no  languour,  but  by 
some  spirited  conduct  tell  the  world,  as  early  as  possible, 
that  we  remain  steady  and  firm  in  the  cause  we  have 
undertaken." 3     Thus    the    ministerial    foreign    policy 

question  was  secret  and  implied  that  England  had  consented  to  evacuate  Port 
Egmont  at  some  future  date.  A  few  years  later,  it  was  asserted  that  in  a 
dispatch  to  his  government,  dated  16th  March  1771,  the  Comte  de  Guines, 
then  French  ambassador  in  England,  stated  "  que  les  ministres  anglais  an- 
nonant  qu'immediatement  apres  le  retour  des  vaisseaux  charges  de  reprendre 
possession  des  Isles  Falkland,  leur  premier  soin  sera  d'envoyer  l'ordre  de  les 
abandonner ."  Called  upon  for  an  explanation  by  Horace  St  Paul,  then  secretary 
to  the  English  embassy  at  Paris,  the  Comte  de  Guines,  in  a  letter  dated  May 
16th,  1775,  replied  :  "  M.  le  C.  :  de  Guines  vient  de  s'assurer  par  lui-meme 
du  contenu  de  la  depgche  du  16  Mars,  il  ne  peut  en  envoier  l'extrait  litteral 
a  monsieur  le  colonel  St  Paul,  mais  il  a  l'honneur  de  l'assurer  qu'en  parlant 
du  discours  que  nous  tenaient  alors  les  ministres  de  sa  magiste  Brittanique, 
il  eut  dit  en  propres  formes  :  d  la  reserve  cependant  de  milord  Rochford." 
If  the  secretary  of  state  for  foreign  affairs  refrained  from  giving  any  promise 
to  abandon  the  Falkland  Islands,  it  may  with  safety  be  assumed  that  the 
utterances  of  the  other  ministers  on  this  point  were  entirely  unofficial,  and 
made  upon  their  own  responsibility.  Colonel  St  Paul  of  Ewart,  edited  by 
George  G.  Butler  (191 1)  vol.  ii.  pp.  75,  133-134;  Chatham  Correspondence, 
iv.  71-72. 

1  Chatham  Correspondence,  4,  76-77. 

2  Chatham  Correspondence,  4,  78-79  ;   82-86. 

3  Ibid.,  78-79. 


410    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

was  the  occasion,  but  not  the  cause,  of  the  attack  ;  and 
never  was  a  better  demonstration  given  of  factious 
criticism  and  perverted  ability  than  on  Friday, 
January  25th,  when  the  Spanish  declaration  was  laid 
before  parliament.  No  blame,  indeed,  attaches  to 
the  opposition  for  calling  for  papers  connected  with 
the  negotiation  ;  for  no  harm  could  ensue,  now  that  a 
settlement  had  been  reached,  from  a  publication  of 
documents  which,  a  few  weeks  before,  could  not  have 
been  safely  revealed  ;  and  the  request  was  willingly 
granted.  Nor  is  the  Duke  of  Richmond  to  be  censured 
for  moving  that  all  the  memorials  which  had  passed 
between  England  and  France  should  be  laid  before 
the  house,  since  he  could  justify  his  demand  by  the 
popular,  though  entirely  baseless,  belief  that  France 
had  been  allowed  to  interfere  in  the  negotiation,  and 
had  practically  dictated  the  terms  of  the  settlement.1 
But  what,  indeed,  was  worthy  of  blame  was  the  violent 
and  factious  tone  adopted  by  the  opposition  speakers. 
Thus  Richmond,  instead  of  being  content  with  Roch- 
ford's  plain  and  truthful  statement  that  no  Anglo- 
French  memorials  could  be  produced  as  none  existed, 
proclaimed  the  truly  startling  doctrine  that  the  word 
of  a  minister  ought  never  to  be  accepted  by  the  nation  ; 
and  in  this  wild  contention  he  was  supported  by 
Chatham  who,  though  he  refrained  from  giving 
Rochford  the  lie  direct,  asserted  that  he  knew  as  a 
positive  fact  that  France  had  interfered  in  the  negotia- 
tion.    In  the  house  of  commons,  moreover,  the  same 

1  It  is  necessary  carefully  to  discriminate  between  influence  and  participa- 
tion. It  is,  of  course,  true  that  France  very  materially  influenced  the  negotia- 
tion, but  this  was  inevitable  from  her  position  as  a  possible  ally  of  Spain  in 
the  event  of  war.  It  is  not  true,  however,  to  say  that  she  interfered  ;  and 
there  is  an  interesting  dispatch  from  Rochford  to  Harcourt,  dated  December 
21st,  1770  (Foreign  State  Papers,  R.O.,  281),  which  illustrates  the  care  taken 
by  the  English  ministers  to  safeguard  against  any  suspicion  of  French 
mediation. 


THE  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION        411 

recklessness  in  accusation  was  displayed,  the  most 
notable  speech  being  made  by  Dowdeswell  who 
declared  that  the  declaration  was  shameful,  that  the 
satisfaction  obtained  was  miserably  disproportionate 
to  the  length  of  the  negotiation,  that  it  was  impossible 
not  to  believe  that  Spain,  from  the  very  first,  had  been 
willing  to  grant  such  meagre  reparation  ;  and  that,  if 
the  ministers  had  never  intended  to  ask  for  more,  they 
had  grossly  deceived  the  people  in  making  preparations 
for  a  war  which  could  never  have  been  a  serious 
possibility.1 

Such  were  the  charges,  the  offspring  of  ignorance 
and  faction,  produced  by  the  opposition  ;  and  the 
campaign  of  misrepresentation  was  not  confined  to  a 
single  day.  When  the  papers,  which  had  been  de- 
manded, were  laid  before  the  house  of  commons  on 
February  4th,  the  cry  was  again  raised  that  France 
had  interfered  in  the  negotiation,  and  no  heed  was 
paid  to  North's  denial  of  the  charge.  "  Sir,"  said 
Dowdeswell,  "  we  know  the  court  of  France  has  in- 
terfered ;  and  we  ought  to  know  in  what  way  the  elder 
branch  of  the  house  of  Bourbon  has  interfered  "  ;  and 
the  same  accusation  was  repeated  in  slightly  varying 
forms  by  nearly  every  speaker  on  the  opposition  side. 
Thus  Barre  proclaimed  that  it  was  "  the  public  opinion 
of  all  Europe  that  the  whole  transaction  is  by  France 
alone,"  and  Burke,  going  still  further,  declared  that 
he  knew,  "  from  a  better  source  than  common  rumour, 
that  France  has  interfered,  not  as  a  mediator  but  as 
a  party." 2  Nor  did  even  this  attack  exhaust  the 
activity  and  satisfy  the  venom  of  the  opposition  ;  and 
when,  on  February  13th,  an  address  of  thanks  for  the 

Cavendish   Debates,   2,  218-226;    Pari.  Hist.  xvi.  1 336-1345  ;    Chatham 
Correspondence,  4,  86-88. 

2  Cavendish  Debates,  2,  231-243. 


412     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

settlement  of  the  dispute  with  Spain  was  moved  in 
the  house  of  commons,  Dowdeswell  seized  the  oppor- 
tunity to  make  a  lengthy  and  violent  assault  upon  the 
ministers.  According  to  him  their  crimes  were,  indeed, 
many.  They  had  neither  prepared  for  the  attack  upon 
Port  Egmont,  nor  obtained  compensation  for  the  pro- 
tracted refusal  of  Spain  to  do  justice  to  this  country  ; 
and,  filling  the  cup  of  their  iniquity,  they  had  approved 
a  declaration,  the  terms  of  which  were  so  vague  and 
ambiguous  as  to  give  neither  satisfaction  for  the  past 
nor  security  for  the  future.1  In  the  upper  house  the 
government  was  subjected  to  the  same  ill-informed  and 
vindictive  criticism,  but,  unfortunately,  we  know  little 
of  the  debates  in  that  assembly  at  this  time.  It  seems 
that  Chatham  was  foremost  in  the  fray,  speaking  for 
two  hours  to  an  amendment  to  the  address  of  thanks 
on  February  14th ; 2  and,  a  few  days  earlier,  the  Duke 
of  Bolton  had  moved  that  the  instructions,  which  had 
been  given  to  Hunt  when  he  was  sent  to  the  Falkland 
Islands,  should  be  laid  before  the  house,  in  the  hope, 
it  has  been  asserted,  that  the  publication  of  these 
orders,  which  were  excessively  minatory,  would  so 
outrage  the  Spanish  court  as  to  induce  it  to  refuse  to 
ratify  the  declaration,  and  provoke  it  into  embarking 
upon  a  war  with  England.3 

Yet,  in  spite  of  all  their  labours,  the  opposition 
failed  in  their  crusade.  They  aimed  at  bringing  dis- 
credit and  disgrace  upon  the  government,  and  they 
did  not  attain  the  end  they  sought.  It  was  not  their 
bitterest  grief  that  they  had  been  easily  outvoted  in 
both  houses,  for  that  had  been  a  foregone  conclusion  : 
it  was  of  much  greater  moment  that  they  had  been  so 

1  Cavendish  Debates,  2,  272-306. 

2  Walpole's  Memoirs,  4,  182-183  ;   Pari.  Hist.,  xvi.  1379-1385. 

3  Walpole's  Memoirs,  4,  179. 


THE  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION        413 

entirely  unsuccessful  in  stirring  up  any  national  dis- 
content against  the  ministry.  Like  Carteret  before 
them,  they  had  endeavoured  to  fan  the  war  fever, 
to  disseminate  the  belief  that  the  honour  and  welfare 
of  the  country  had  been  sacrificed,  and  that  nothing 
could  be  more  disastrous  that  a  peace  purchased  at  so 
high  a  rate  ;  but  the  people,  to  whom  they  appealed, 
refused  to  listen  to  them.  Their  case  was,  indeed,  too 
bad  to  be  rendered  even  plausible  by  the  eloquence 
of  Chatham  and  the  reasoning  of  Burke  ;  and  it  may 
be  that  because  they  failed,  the  iniquity  of  their  con- 
duct has  been  generally  overlooked.  Baffled  intriguers, 
however,  cannot  plead  the  frustration  of  their  plans 
as  an  excuse  for  their  actions  ;  and  though  Chatham's 
opposition  to  Sir  Robert  Walpole  has  sometimes  been 
pardoned  on  the  ground  of  his  comparative  youth,  it 
is  instructive  to  remember,  in  connection  with  this  plea, 
that  he  was  guilty  of  an  even  less  defensible  display 
of  factious  opposition  when  well  advanced  in  years  and 
one  of  the  most  famous  and  experienced  of  European 
statesmen. 

Having  thus  failed  to  plunge  the  country  into  war, 
the  opposition,  if  it  was  to  continue,  was  obliged  to 
find  another  grievance  against  the  government ;  and 
this  time  the  discovery  was  not  easy  to  make.  All 
the  possibilities  of  the  Middlesex  election  had  long 
been  exhausted  ;  and  although  this  much  over-debated 
question  was  again  raised  in  both  houses  in  the  course 
of  the  session,  the  futility  of  such  a  revival  was  made 
quite  obvious.  Only  twenty  supporters  rallied  to  the 
side  of  Chatham,  when,  in  the  house  of  lords  on 
December  5th,  he  moved  that  the  judgment  of  the  house 
of  commons  upon  the  capacity  to  be  elected  a  member 
of  parliament  was  neither  final  nor  conclusive  ;  x   and 

1  Pari.  Hist.  xvi.  1302-13 12  ;   Walpole's  Memoirs,  iv.  140-141. 


414    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

when,  a  few  weeks  later,  Sir  George  Savile  asked  leave 
of  the  commons  to  introduce  a  bill  dealing  with  the 
rights  and  privileges  of  electors,  he  suffered  the  in- 
dignity of  addressing  a  half-empty  and  inattentive 
house,  many  members  having  paired  or  withdrawn  to 
neighbouring  coffee-houses  in  order  to  avoid  hearing 
arguments  which  they  already  knew  by  heart.1  It 
was,  indeed,  time  decently  to  inter  the  Middlesex 
election,  especially  as  another  question  of  almost  equal 
importance  had  lately  arisen  and  awaited  discussion. 
It  is  by  no  means  an  unimportant  part  of  the  functions 
of  a  parliamentary  opposition  to  defend  the  subject 
against  that  tendency  towards  arbitrary  and  oppressive 
conduct  which  exists,  in  more  or  less  degree,  in  every 
government  ;  and  Chatham  and  his  friends  were  now 
given  an  opportunity  to  play  this  role.  It  was  open  to 
them  to  make  amends  for  past  failures  and  mistakes 
by  nobly  standing  up  in  defence  of  what,  in  spite 
of  many  drawbacks  and  unhappy  consequences,  is  one 
of  the  surest  guarantees  of  constitutional  liberty, 
the  freedom  of  the  press. 

During  the  year  1770,  public  attention  bad  been 
attracted  to  the  very  unsatisfactory  character  of  the 
existing  law  of  libel ;  and,  in  order  to  understand  the 
awakening  of  this  widespread  interest  in  a  subject 
which  might  well  be  thought  too  technical  and  abstract 
to  evoke  much  enthusiasm,  it  is  necessary  to  go  back 
to  the  publication,  in  the  Morning  Advertiser  of  December 
19th,  1769,  of  Junius'  famous  letter  to  the  king.  With 
almost  unparalleled  malice  and  spleen  this  vindictive 
and    anonymous    letter    writer    drew    his    sovereign's 

1  Pari.  Hist.,  xvi.  1355-1358  ;  Cavendish  Debates,  1,  245-256.  According 
to  the  Parliamentary  History  "  one  reason  the  numbers  were  but  small  on 
either  side,  was  that  this  point,  having  often  been  debated,  several  paired  off, 
and  the  question  being  put  before  it  was  expected,  many  gentlemen  were 
absent  in  the  coffee-houses." 


THE  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION        415 

attention  to  the  consequences  of  nine  years  of  personal 
government.  He  showed  how  the  affections  of  England, 
of  Ireland,  and  of  the  Colonies  had  been  so  success- 
fully alienated  that  the  king  was  obliged  to  depend 
upon  the  Scotch  whose  loyalty  was  now  so  great 
that  "  one  would  think  they  had  forgotten  that  you 
are  their  lawful  king,  and  had  mistaken  you  for  a 
pretender  to  the  crown."  Yet,  cruel  as  such  gibes 
were,  they  appear  almost  innocent  in  comparison 
with  the  threats  and  admonitions  with  which  the  epistle 
closed.  Covering  the  indecency  of  his  language  with 
a  certain  mock  reverence  and  respect  which  doubled 
its  offensiveness,  Junius  informed  the  king  that  before 
he  could  hope  to  subdue  the  hearts  of  his  subjects, 
"  he  must  gain  a  noble  victory  over  his  own,  that  the 
pretended  power,  which  robs  an  English  subject  of  his 
birthright,  may  rob  an  English  king  of  his  crown  "  ; 
and  that  a  prince,  who  elected  to  model  his  conduct 
upon  that  of  the  Stuarts,  might  well  profit  by  the  ex- 
ample of  their  fate. 

Such  threatening  and  denunciatory  words  could 
easily  be  construed  as  an  incitement  to  rebellion  and 
sedition  ;  and  George  III.  and  his  advisers  are  hardly 
to  be  blamed  for  resorting  in  self  defence  to  the  weapon 
of  the  law.  Unfortunately,  however,  the  chief  offender 
was  beyond  their  reach,  being  concealed  in  that  well- 
contrived  obscurity  from  which  he  has  never  completely 
emerged  ;  and  the  victims  of  the  royal  vengeance  were 
the  subordinate  agents  in  the  crime,  the  printers  and 
publishers  of  the  offensive  letter.  Of  these  sufferers 
the  most  famous  were  Henry  Woodfall,  the  printer 
of  the  Morning  Advertiser,  and  John  Almon,  a  book- 
seller, who  had  sold  a  reprint  of  the  libel.  Both  were 
arrested  and  brought  to  trial  ;  and  in  the  course  of 
the   legal   proceedings  against  them,  Lord   Mansfield 


416    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

ruled,  though  not  for  the  first  time,  that  a  printer 
or  publisher  was  responsible  for  the  actions  of  his 
subordinates,  and  that,  in  cases  of  libel,  the  jury  was 
restricted  to  returning  a  verdict  upon  the  mere  facts 
of  printing  and  publication,  leaving  it  to  the  bench  to 
determine  the  all  important  question  whether  what  had 
been  printed  or  published  was  actually  a  libel.  In 
both  trials,  the  lord  chief  justice  laid  particular 
stress  upon  the  latter  point,  carefully  instructing  the 
jury,  in  the  case  of  Woodfall,  that  "  as  for  the  intention, 
the  malice,  the  sedition,  or  any  other  harder  words 
which  might  be  given  in  informations  for  libels,  public 
or  private,  they  were  merely  formal  words,  mere  words 
of  course,  mere  inferences  of  law,  with  which  the  jury 
were  not  to  concern  themselves." 

In  proclaiming  such  a  doctrine  Lord  Mansfield  was 
able  to  defend  himself  both  by  precedent  and  reason. 
Many  eminent  lawyers  in  the  past,  and  among  them 
the  great  Lord  Hardwicke,  had  upheld  a  precisely 
similar  view  ;  and  it  is  impossible  to  contend  that 
such  a  limitation  of  a  jury's  province  was  entirely 
unreasonable.  It  may  fairly  be  argued  that  though 
the  united  opinion  of  twelve  average  and  uninstructed 
men  may  be  of  great  weight  upon  a  subject  which 
demands  for  its  understanding  no  particular  knowledge 
or  training,  it  is  to  the  experts  we  look  when  a  highly 
specialised  topic  is  under  discussion ;  and  that  twelve 
grocers  are  no  more  qualified  to  determine  the  libellous 
character  of  a  publication  than  they  are  to  decide  the 
question  of  the  authorship  of  St  John's  Gospel.  Many 
are  the  men  who  have  discovered  to  their  cost  how  dark 
and  intricate  the  law  of  libel  is  ;  and  it  may  well  appear 
the  height  of  unreason  to  expect  the  untrained  and 
ignorant  layman  to  find  his  way  through  a  labyrinth 
which  has  sometimes  puzzled  even  a  lawyer.     Yet, 


THE  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION        417 

in  spite  of  the  undoubted  weight  of  such  arguments, 
and  supported  though  they  were  by  many  precedents, 
the  opinion  expressed  by  Mansfield  had  for  many 
years  been  challenged,  even  in  legal  circles.  The 
greatest  opponent  of  the  lord  chief-justice  was  Lord 
Camden  who  had  always  maintained  that  it  was  the 
business  of  the  jury  to  decide  the  criminality  of  a  libel 
as  well  as  the  fact  of  its  publication,  and  that  this  privi- 
lege was  guaranteed  by  the  law  of  the  land.  Public 
opinion,  moreover,  had  always  supported  that  party 
in  the  controversy  to  which  Camden  belonged,  and  for 
very  obvious  and  cogent  reasons.  It  was  abundantly 
clear  that  if  the  judiciary  alone  was  to  decide  whether 
publications  were  libellous  or  not,  the  much  boasted 
freedom  of  the  press  would  quickly  become  very  little 
more  than  a  mere  empty  vaunt.  Few  would  dare  to 
criticise  the  actions  of  the  government,  or  to  voice  the 
grievances  of  the  nation,  if  they  were  to  be  left  to  the 
mercy  of  judges  who,  appointed  by  the  crown,  and 
by  reason  of  their  training  and  environment  far  more 
in  sympathy  with  the  maintenance  of  authority  than 
with  the  assertion  of  freedom,  would  be  only  too  likely 
to  affix  the  stigma  of  libel  to  every  writing  which  ran 
counter  to  the  wishes  of  the  court  or  tended  to  provoke 
discontent  against  the  government.  Free  criticism, 
it  was  urged,  would  be  quickly  stifled,  and  the  press 
converted  into  an  engine  of  royal  tyranny ;  and  the 
only  possible  safeguard  against  such  a  danger  was  to 
allow  a  reputed  libeller  that  privilege  of  being  tried  by 
a  jury  of  his  fellow-countrymen,  which  was  not  denied 
to  the  lowest  criminal. 

It  is  evident  that  much  of  the  disagreement  between 
the  two  schools  was  due  to  a  fundamental  difference  in 
their  point  of  view.  Mansfield,  and  those  who  shared 
his  opinions,  not  unnaturally  resented  the  claims  of 

2  D 


418    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

the  layman  to  interfere  in  what  they  regarded  as  the 
province  of  the  lawyer ;  whereas  Camden,  paying 
perhaps  too  little  heed  to  the  necessity  of  specialised 
knowledge  in  legal  administration,  thought  almost 
exclusively  of  the  great  constitutional  question  which 
was  at  stake.  It  seemed  to  him  far  more  important 
that  the  press  should  be  free  than  that  the  law  of  libel 
should  be  scientifically  applied  ;  and  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  he  was  substantially  in  the  right.  The 
practical,  and,  therefore,  the  real  value  of  any  system 
of  law  depends  upon  the  degree  to  which  it  promotes  and 
develops  a  well-ordered  and  vigorous  national  life,  and 
it  is  certain  that  if  the  judicial  bench  were  able  to  control 
the  most  powerful  organ  of  political  criticism  that  has 
ever  existed,  constitutional  growth,  if  not  impossible, 
would,  at  least,  be  rendered  exceedingly  difficult.  There- 
fore, if  the  law  of  libel  really  was  as  Mansfield  had 
always  stated  it,  it  must  be  changed  in  the  interests  of 
the  nation  as  a  whole  ;  for  men  had  come  to  perceive 
that  what  was  scientifically  true  might  easily  be 
politically  dangerous,  and  that  it  was  necessary  for 
them  to  take  steps  to  prevent  their  liberty  being 
sacrificed  to  the  pedantry  of  lawyers.  Thus,  in 
Woodfall's  trial,  the  jury,  circumventing  rather  than 
defying  the  instructions  it  had  received  from  Lord 
Mansfield,  returned  a  verdict  of  "  guilty  of  printing 
and  publishing "  only ;  and  when  Miller,  another 
printer,  was  charged  at  the  Guildhall,  the  jury  dis- 
regarded both  the  weight  of  evidence  and  the  elementary 
principles  of  justice  by  returning  a  verdict  of  "  not 
guilty." 

A  conflict  between  law  and  public  opinion  is  always 
attended  by  serious  danger,  and  when  such  discord 
arises,  the  easy  and  natural  remedy  to  adopt  is  to  bring 
the  law  into  conformity  with  the  national  will.     Un- 


THE  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION        419 

fortunately,  however,  it  was  in  the  last  degree  unlikely 
that  a  ministry  which  depended  upon  the  court,  and 
upon  the  court  alone,  would  make  a  change  which 
must  result  in  the  multiplication  of  its  already  numerous 
critics  ;  and,  therefore,  what  the  administration  would 
not  attempt,  the  opposition  must.  Indeed,  there 
was  much  to  induce  Chatham  and  Rockingham  to  essay 
the  task  which  the  ministry  declined.  If  they  suc- 
ceeded, their  names  would  be  for  ever  linked  with  an 
important  constitutional  development ;  and,  if  they 
failed,  they  would,  at  least,  enjoy  the  satisfaction 
which  comes  from  a  gallant  struggle  against  a  combina- 
tion of  ignorance  and  interest,  and  could  count  with 
security  upon  the  gratitude  of  contemporaries  and  the 
admiration  of  posterity.  Thus,  inaction  would  indeed 
be  fatal ;  but  it  would  be  still  worse  if,  after  having 
engaged  in  battle  upon  behalf  of  the  nation,  the  leaders 
of  the  opposition  turned  their  swords  against  one 
another,  and  saved  the  enemy  the  trouble  of  destroying 
them  by  bringing  destruction  upon  themselves.  Yet 
it  was  this  miserable  fate  which  befell  them  ;  and 
never  was  a  greater  opportunity  missed,  or  a  catas- 
trophe more  complete.  The  only  result  of  the  crusade 
to  reform  the  law  of  libel  was  the  complete  collapse 
of  the  party  which  had  undertaken  it.  Henceforth, 
dissension  between  the  followers  of  Chatham  and 
Rockingham  was  open  and  avowed ;  anything  ap- 
proaching an  united  opposition  ceased  to  exist ;  and 
the  parliamentary  conflict  was  stilled  until  the  days 
when  England  was  on  the  verge  of  war  with  the  colonists. 
The  tragedy  of  the  disaster  was  rendered  all  the 
greater  by  being  totally  unnecessary  ;  for  the  difference 
of  opinion,  which  separated  the  two  parties  in  opposition, 
was  comparatively  slight,  and  could  easily  have  been 
adjusted  by  the  timely  exercise  of  a  little  tact  and 


420    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

forbearance.     Both   were   agreed   in    considering   the 
law  of  libel,  as  interpreted  by  Mansfield,  to  be  a  serious 
menace  to  the  freedom  of  the  press,  and,  as  this  was  the 
main  point  at  issue,  it  might  be  thought  that  little 
room  was  left  for  any  serious  disagreement.     History, 
however,    teaches     that     embittered     quarrels,    both 
between  nations   and  individuals,   often  spring  from 
very  trivial  causes,  and  it  was  over  the  method  to  be 
adopted  to  attain  an  end  which  all  desired  that  there 
arose    the    dispute    which    wrecked    the    opposition. 
Taking  what  may  fairly  be  called  the  common  sense 
view  of  the  situation,  Rockingham  and  his  supporters 
desired  to  remove  the  prevalent  doubt  and  uncertainty 
upon  a  very  important  legal  point  by  introducing  a 
bill  definitely  giving  the  jury  the  right  to  decide  whether 
a  publication  was  libellous  or  not.     It  was  not,  they 
might  truly  say,  for  them,  mere  politicians  and  lay- 
men,  to   arbitrate   between   such  eminent   jurists   as 
Camden  and  Mansfield  upon  a  question  of  law  ;    but, 
at  the  same  time,  it  was  their  duty  as  statesmen  to 
endeavour  to   end  the   confusion  which  arises  when 
lawyers  disagree.     Thus,  having  no  desire  to  inquire 
into  the  past,  to  plunge  into  a  controversy  for  which 
they    were    not    equipped,    or    to    censure    Mansfield 
for  expressing  a  belief  which,  they  were  well  aware, 
he  could  support  by  far  better  arguments  than  ever 
they  could  produce,   they  sought  a  remedy  for  the 
future,  and   approached  the  problem,  not  as  lawyers 
which  they   were  not,  but  as   statesmen  which  they 
were.     Yet,  it  was  by  this  very  wisdom  and  restraint 
that  they  incurred  the   wrath   of  the  ally  who  could 
frustrate  their  plans  and  defeat  their  hopes.     Chatham 
who,  though  he  had  the  insight  of  genius,  could  never 
think  clearly  or  logically,  was  entirely  unable  to  dis- 
tinguish   between    the    legal    and    the    constitutional 


THE  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION        421 

aspect  of  the  question.  Rightly  convinced  that  the 
doctrines,  enunciated  by  Mansfield,  were  inimical  to 
freedom  and  alien  to  the  spirit  of  the  constitution, 
he  at  once  concluded  that  the  lord  chief-justice  was 
guilty  of  a  grievous  error.  To  him  it  seemed  far  more 
likely  that  the  man,  who  was  well  known  to  favour 
autocratic  methods  of  government,  should  twist  and 
pervert  the  law  to  his  own  evil  ends  than  that  the  law 
itself  should  be  an  engine  of  tyranny  and  oppression. 
So  thinking,  he  could  not  favour  the  design  of  a  legis- 
lative change,  for  that  might  be  well  construed  as  a 
confession  of  weakness,  as  an  admission  that  Mansfield 
was  right  and  Camden  was  wrong  :  what  he  sought  to 
promote  was  an  inquiry  into  the  administration  of 
the  law  of  libel,  confidently  believing  that  such  an 
inquisition  would  reveal  the  evil  deeds  of  wicked 
judges,  and  establish,  once  and  for  ever,  the  true 
doctrine  that  the  freedom  of  the  press,  though  assailed 
by  those  who  had  most  to  fear  from  it,  enjoyed  the 
protection  of  the  law  of  the  land. 

Thus,  the  antagonists  of  the  court  inclined  once 
more  to  range  themselves  under  opposing  banners  ; 
and  the  line  of  demarcation  between  the  followers 
of  Chatham  and  Rockingham  became  unpleasantly 
well-defined.  It  is  certain  that  a  great  deal  of  difficulty 
in  the  future  might  have  been  avoided  if  a  plan  of 
campaign  had  been  discussed  and  settled  between  the 
two  parties  ;  and  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  this 
very  obvious  method  of  adjusting  differences  was 
ruled  out  of  consideration  by  Chatham  and  his  followers, 
who  were  determined  to  act  independently  of  men  whom 
they  were  already  beginning  to  regard  with  distrust 
and  suspicion.  It  was  in  accordance  with  this  most 
unfortunate  resolution  that  though  Chatham  and  his 
friends   had   originally   intended   that   the   campaign 


422     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

should  be  opened  by  Charles  Cornwall,  a  very  insig- 
nificant member  of  the  opposition,  moving  for  the 
institution  of  an  inquiry  into  the  administration 
of  justice,  the  idea  was  promptly  abandoned  when  it 
was  found  that  Cornwall  felt  himself  pledged  in  honour 
to  communicate  his  intention  to  the  Rockinghams. 
An  equally  effective,  though  more  roundabout,  method 
was  contrived  ;  for  when  it  was  discovered  that  Captain 
Constantine  Phipps,  an  independent  member  of  parlia- 
ment, intended  to  move  for  leave  to  introduce  a  bill 
dealing  with  the  attorney-general's  power  of  filing 
informations  ex  officio  for  libel,  it  was  at  once  arranged 
that  Cornwall,  in  speaking  to  the  motion,  should  press 
for  an  inquiry  into  the  administration  of  justice  on 
the  ground  that  far  more  mischief  was  being  wrought 
by  the  judges  than  by  the  attorney-general ;  and  that 
then  Phipps  should  extend  his  proposition  in  order  to 
meet  this  criticism.1 

This  was  an  ingenious  contrivance,  and,  save  in 
one  particular,  successfully  executed.  On  November 
27th,  1770,  Captain  Phipps  moved  that  "  leave  be  given 
to  bring  in  a  bill  to  explain,  amend,  and  render  more 
effectual,  the  act  of  the  4th  and  5th  of  William  and 
Mary,  to  prevent  malicious  informations  in  the  court 
of  king's  bench,"  and  after  the  motion  had  been 
seconded  by  Sir  William  Meredith,  and  opposed  by 
Welbore  Ellis,  Cornwall  rose  to  play  his  pre-arranged 
part  of  the  friendly  and  sympathetic  critic.  While 
allowing  that  the  public  mind  was  strangely  agitated, 
Cornwall  contended  that  this  did  not  spring  from  any 
abuse  of  the  power  lodged  in  the  hands  of  the  attorney- 
general,  but  rather  from  juries  being  told  that  "  upon 
the  trial  of  a  libel  .  .  .  they  were  only  judges  of  the 
fact,  not  of  the  law  "  ;  and  that,  therefore,  the  agitation 

1  Chatham  Correspondence,  4,  20-23. 


THE  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION        423 

in  the  nation  would  best  be  allayed  by  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  committee  to  inquire  into  the  administra- 
tion of  justice.  According  to  the  original  programme, 
Phipps  ought  then  to  have  consented  to  amend  his 
proposal ;  but,  with  the  natural  pride  of  a  father,  he 
found  it  impossible,  when  the  time  came,  to  mutilate 
his  own  offspring,  and  retorted  upon  Cornwall  by 
asserting  that  "if  it  should  be  proved,  that  there  is 
a  power  within  the  letter  of  the  law,  which  militates 
against  the  constitution,  why,  before  we  correct  the 
evil,  should  we  go  into  so  serious  an  inquiry,  as  whether 
the  administration  of  justice  is  correctly  administered 
or  not  ?  '  Yet,  though  Phipps  had  proved  himself 
unexpectedly  obdurate,  and  no  motion  for  an  inquiry 
was  made,  Cornwall's  interposition  was  certainly  not 
without  value  as  a  preparation  of  the  ground  for 
future  operations,  and  as  a  test  which,  from  Chatham's 
point  of  view,  divided  the  sheep  from  the  goats.  Thus 
Dunning,  who  had  once  been  solicitor-general  in 
Grafton's  ministry,  and  had  only  recently  joined  the 
opposition,  and  Serjeant  Glynn,  a  leading  member  of 
the  "  Bill  of  Rights  "  Society,  and  a  consistent  opponent 
of  the  court,  won  Chatham's  good  opinion  by  their 
denunciation  of  Mansfield's  doctrines  and  their  en- 
thusiastic support  of  Cornwall's  suggestions  ;  and  it 
equally  did  not  pass  unnoticed  that  Dowdeswell  had 
remained  silent,  and  that  Burke,  though  he  pressed 
for  an  inquiry,  had  been  frank  enough  to  admit  that 
juries  might  be  corrupt  as  well  as  judges.1 

"  If  Burke's  picture  of  juries,  and  of  that  mode 
of  justice,"  wrote  Chatham,  on  receiving  an  account 
of  the  debate,  "  be  to  be  adopted,  I  will  separate  from 
so  unorthodox  a  congregation  "  ; 2  and  this  was  certainly 

1  Cavendish   Debates,   2,   89-116;    Pari.   Hist.,  xvi.,   1127-1211;    Chatham 
Correspondence,  4,  30-31. 

2  Chatham  Correspondence,  4,  31-32. 


424    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

no  idle  threat.  Aware  that  in  Dunning  and  Glynn  he 
had  supporters  of  established  legal  reputation,1  and 
determined  to  be  no  longer  fettered  by  what  he  deemed 
the  sickly  moderation  of  the  Rockingham  party, 
Chatham  resolved  to  push  on  the  campaign  in  complete 
independence  of  his  former  allies  ;  and,  using  Shelburne 
as  his  go-between,  persuaded  Glynn  to  father  the 
resolution  which  Cornwall  had  abandoned.2  Con- 
sequently, on  Thursday,  December  6th,  Glynn  moved 
"  that  a  committee  be  appointed  to  inquire  into  the 
administration  of  criminal  justice,  and  the  proceedings 
of  the  judges  of  Westminster  Hall,  particularly  in  cases 
relating  to  the  liberty  of  the  press,  and  the  constitutional 
power  and  duties  of  juries."  The  rejection  of  this 
motion  was,  of  course,  a  foregone  conclusion,  but  the 
debate  afforded  an  interesting  illustration  of  the  very 
clearly  marked  divergence  in  opinion  between  the  two 
parties  in  opposition.  All  Chatham's  followers  who 
joined  in  the  discussion  were  unanimous  in  denouncing 
Mansfield's  conception  of  the  law  of  libel,  not  only  as 
antagonistic  to  freedom,  but  as  actually  illegal.  Thus 
Glynn  declared  that  "  these  doctrines  .  .  .  have  no 
authority  from  our  laws  and  constitution,"  and  Calcraft 
scornfully  remarked,  "  What  does  it  signify  to  have 
proved  that  the  arraigned  doctrines  are  conformable 
to  precedent,  since  they  have  not  been  proved  con- 
formable to  the  principles  of  the  constitution  " ;  while 
Alderman  Oliver,  who  seconded  the  motion  in  a  short 
but  extremely  violent  speech,  boldly  accused  Lord 
Mansfield  of  maladministration.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  was  very  noticeable  that  all  the  members  of  the 

1  "  Mr  Dunning's  visit  yesterday,"  wrote  Chatham  on  December  3rd, 
"  has  filled  me  with  the  highest  satisfaction.  He  is  another  being  from  any 
I  have  known  of  the  profession.  .  .  .  Mr  Dunning  is  not  a  lawyer,  at  the 
same  time  that  he  is  the  law  itself."     Chatham  Correspondence,  4,  41. 

2  Chatham  Correspondence,  4,  35-36. 


THE  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION        425 

Rockingham  party  who  spoke  were  careful,  while 
supporting  the  motion,  clearly  to  dissociate  them- 
selves from  the  opinions  expressed  by  Glynn  and  his 
friends.  Thus  Sir  George  Savile  argued  that  he 
favoured  an  inquiry  because,  confused  by  the  division 
of  opinion  among  the  experts,  he  was  anxious  to  have 
his  doubts  cleared  up,  and  Burke  had  the  honesty  to 
avow  that  if  Lord  Mansfield  "  has  erred,  he  has  erred 
in  the  best  company."  x 

"  Upon  the  whole,"  wrote  Chatham  in  reference 
to  this  debate,  "  the  day  was  a  good  and  great  one  for 
the  public,"  2  and  it  is  very  significant  that  he  should 
find  pleasure  in  what  might  have  been  expected  to 
produce  a  very  different  emotion.  Doubtless  it  was 
well  that  a  protest  should  be  made  against  an  inter- 
pretation of  the  libel  law,  which  ran  counter  to  the 
spirit  of  the  constitution,  but  it  would  have  been  still 
better  if  such  a  protest  had  come  from  an  opposition 
which  was  agreed,  not  only  upon  principles,  but  also 
upon  a  programme.  Only  seventy-six  votes  had  been 
given  for  Glynn's  motion,  and  such  an  attenuated 
minority  suggests  that  not  a  few  of  the  Rockingham 
party  had  not  troubled  to  attend  the  debate.  Nor  can 
they  be  blamed  for  their  absence,  for,  unconsidered 
and  unconsulted,  they  were  under  no  obligation  to 
support  a  method  of  procedure  which  they  did  not 
approve.  To  them  it  seemed  that  to  institute  an 
inquiry  into  the  administration  of  justice  was  not 
only  to  shake  the  foundations  upon  which  all  ordered 
government  rests,  but  also  to  convert  what  ought 
to  be  a  crusade  on  behalf  of  the  freedom  of  the  press 
into  a  malicious  assault  upon  a  single  individual. 
There  was   good  reason  to  believe  that  Chatham  and 


2 


Cavendish  Debates,  2,  121-148  ;    Pari.  Hist.,  xvi.,   1211-1301, 
Chatham  Correspondence,  4,  45-46. 


426    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

his  friends  were  aiming  far  too  much  at  making  a 
personal  attack  upon  Lord  Mansfield  ;  and  this  sus- 
picion gained  no  little  support  from  the  proceedings 
of  the  opposition  in  the  house  of  lords.  When,  on 
Friday,  December  7th,  Mansfield  informed  the  peers 
that  he  wished  the  house  to  be  summoned  for  the 
following  Monday,  as  he  had  an  important  communica- 
tion to  make,  it  is  very  probable  that  Chatham  believed 
that  he  had  succeeded  in  driving  the  lord  chief-justice 
out  into  the  open,  and  that  the  latter  was  about  to 
commit  the  serious  indiscretion  of  making  a  public 
defence  of  his  conduct.  In  this  expectation,  however, 
he  was  disappointed,  for,  when  Monday  came,  Mansfield 
did  no  more  than  inform  his  hearers  that  he  had  left 
a  copy  of  the  judgment  of  the  court  of  king's  bench 
in  Woodfall's  case  with  the  clerk  of  the  house.  As 
there  was  no  motion,  there  could  be  no  debate  ;  and 
although,  on  the  day  following,  Camden,  instigated  by 
Chatham,1  sought  to  entrap  Mansfield  by  addressing 
to  him  six  questions  upon  the  law  of  libel,  the  lord 
chief-justice  rightly  refused  to  be  interrogated  without 
notice  ;  and,  though  he  gave  a  general  promise  that 
the  topics  raised  by  Camden  should  receive  discussion, 
stoutly  declined  to  name  any  particular  day  for  the 
debate.2 

The  motion  for  an  inquiry  having  been  rejected 
in  the  lower  house,  and  Camden  being  determined  not 
to  renew  the  attack  upon  Mansfield,3  it  seemed  that 
Chatham  was  at  the  end  of  his  resources,  and  that  it 
was  now  the  turn  of  the  Rockingham  whigs  to  move 

1  According  to  Horace  Walpole,  Camden  confessed  that  "  Lord  Chatham 
had  driven  him  into  the  attack  on  Lord  Mansfield,  which  he  did  not  like, 
and  in  which  at  last  he  declared  he  would  meddle  no  further  :  he  did  not 
care  to  have  all  the  twelve  judges  against  him."     Walpole's  Memoirs,  4,  149. 

2  Pari.  Hist.,  xvi.,  1312-1317,  1321-1322  ;  Walpole's  Memoirs,  4,  143-144, 
146-148. 

3  Chatham  Correspondence,  4,  97-99. 


THE  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION        427 

in  the  matter.  That  they  would  steer  a  different  course 
was  certain,  for  they  had  not  approved  of  the  method 
hitherto  adopted  ;  and  Rockingham  was  only  express- 
ing the  opinion  of  the  majority  of  his  followers  when 
he  said,  "  I  early  thought  that  the  mode  of  proceeding 
in  the  house  of  lords,  by  debates,  queries,  questions, 
etc.,  between  Lord  Camden  and  Lord  Mansfield,  would 
ultimately  end  in  nothing  advantageous  to  the  public," 
and  that  "  the  inquiry  into  the  proceedings  of  the  courts 
of  law  in  the  house  of  commons  seems  to  have  been 
instituted  more  to  gratify  popular  clamour  than  for 
any  expectation  or  plan  of  public  security  to  ensue."  x 
Indeed,  realising  that  Mansfield  was  by  no  means 
singular  in  his  interpretation  of  the  law,  and  that  by 
far  the  larger  proportion  of  the  judiciary  sympathised 
with  him  rather  than  with  Camden,  the  Rockingham 
whigs  fully  appreciated  the  futility  of  an  inquiry, 
and  sought  to  effect  the  needed  change  by  statute. 
In  this  they  showed  greater  wisdom  than  Chatham 
had  displayed.  Nothing  could  be  more  detrimental 
to  the  public  welfare  than  the  prevailing  uncertainty 
on  a  legal  question  of  great  importance  for  the 
community  at  large ;  and  the  Rockinghams  are 
deserving  of  credit  for  their  determination  to  introduce 
a  bill  which,  if  carried,  would  dissipate  all  doubt,  and 
establish  beyond  dispute  the  freedom  of  the  press  by 
giving  the  jury  the  right  to  decide  the  criminality  of 
a  libel. 

No  time  was  lost  in  preparing  a  bill  on  these  lines, 
the  work  being  entrusted  to  the  experienced  hand  of 
William  Dowdeswell ;  and  it  speaks  volumes  for  the 
forbearance  of  the  Rockingham  whigs  that  they  were 

1  The  Duke  of  Richmond  refers  to  "  those  doubts  which  the  opinion  of 
seven  judges  of  the  king's  bench,  countenanced  by  that  of  perhaps  all  the 
judges  now  living,  has  created  in  the  minds  of  many  well-meaning  people." 
Chatham  Correspondence,  4,  97-99. 


428     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

willing  to  ask  Chatham,  who  had  so  recently  treated 
them  with  such  scant  courtesy,  to  co-operate  with  them 
in  this  enterprise.  They  realised,  if  he  did  not,  how  evil 
must  be  the  consequences  of  disunion  and  dissension ; 
and,  in  the  absence  of  Rockingham,  who  was  prevented 
from  coming  to  London  by  his  wife's  ill-health,  the 
Duke  of  Richmond  waited  upon  Chatham  to  learn  his 
views.  The  reception  he  encountered  was  certainly 
not  encouraging.  It  is  true  that  Chatham  was  pre- 
pared to  abandon  his  original  design,  and  to  support 
the  introduction  of  a  bill ;  but  he  suggested  that  Camden 
and  not  Dowdeswell  should  be  entrusted  with  the  con- 
duct of  this  measure,  which,  moreover,  should  be  so 
framed  as  simply  to  declare  that  by  the  existing  law, 
a  jury  was  fully  competent  to  determine  the  criminality 
of  a  libel  as  well  as  the  fact  of  its  publication.1  It 
is  not  difficult  to  perceive  the  motive  of  Chatham's 
preference  for  a  declaratory  over  an  enacting  measure. 
He  was  resolved  never  to  admit  that  Mansfield,  and 
those  who  agreed  with  him,  were  justified  by  law,  and 
he  feared  that  the  introduction  of  a  bill,  such  as  the 
Rockingham  party  had  designed,  might  be  used  as 
an  argument  in  support  of  the  position  occupied  by 
the  lord  chief-justice.  It  is  certain  that  this  was  by 
no  means  an  imaginary  danger,  for  it  might  fairly 
be  contended  that  if  the  law  of  libel  was  really  as 
Chatham  and  Camden  represented  it,  no  statutory 
change   was   necessary :    and   that   the   only  possible 

1  There  is  no  direct  account  of  this  interview  ;  but  Rockingham,  after 
having  heard  from  Richmond,  wrote  to  Dowdeswell  that  "  the  conduct  Lord 
Chatham  holds  in  this  matter  shows  very  plainly  that,  at  the  bottom,  one 
cause  of  difference  between  our  friends  and  him  arises  from  a  jealousy  that 
our  friends  might  get  credit.  The  proposal  that  the  bill  you  had  given  notice 
you  should  move,  should  be  altered,  and  put  into  Lord  Camden's  hands,  was 
a  very  evident  mark  that  he  could  accommodate  a  little  on  the  main  point 
where  the  public  were  concerned,  if  he  and  his  friends  were  to  appear  in  public 
as  the  leaders  of  the  business."     Rockingham  Memoirs,  2,  200-203. 


THE  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION        429 

logical  deduction  to  be  drawn  from  the  introduction 
of  an  enacting  measure  was  that  Lord  Mansfield  was 
justified  by  law  in  having  consistently  confined  the 
scope  of  the  jury's  verdict. 

Political  progress,  however,  is  not  governed  by 
dialectic  however  skilful ;  and  the  Rockingham  whigs 
refused  to  be  convinced  by  these  arguments,  preferring 
to  dispense  with  Chatham's  assistance  rather  than 
accept  it  upon  such  terms.  "  If  you  yield  now,  the 
horseman  will  stick  to  you  while  ever  you  live,"  x  wrote 
Burke  to  Dowdeswell  who,  indeed,  did  not  need  much 
persuasion  to  remain  firm  ;  and  both  Rockingham  and 
Richmond  were  sincerely  convinced  that  it  would  be 
fatal,  both  to  their  credit  and  to  their  political  utility, 
to  surrender  to  Chatham.2  Nor  was  their  refusal 
dictated  by  pride  of  party  alone.  By  making  the 
alteration  in  their  measure  which  Chatham  demanded, 
they  would  pledge  themselves  to  a  definite  belief  in 
either  the  ignorance  or  villainy  of  Lord  Mansfield  ; 
and  this  they  were  not  prepared  to  do.  "  We  wish," 
wrote  the  Duke  of  Richmond  to  Chatham,  "  to  leave 
the  past  just  where  it  is,  and  shall  be  well  satisfied 
if  this  bill  can  be  carried  through,  and  thereby  security 
obtained  on  this  great  point  for  the  future.  Your 
lordship  and  the  friends  of  this  bill  all  mean  alike 
the  support  of  this  material  part  of  the  constitution  ; 
we  differ  only  in  the  means,  and  I  think  not  very  widely. 
I  shall,  therefore,  ever  lament,  if  your  lordship  should 
think  it  necessary  to  go  so  far  as  to  oppose  those  honest 
endeavours,  for  which  we  are  pledged  to  the  public, 
and  which,  after  repeated  and  mature  deliberation, 
we  think  ourselves  bound  to  pursue."  3 

1  Burke's  Correspondence,  i,  251-252. 
a  Rockingham  Memoirs,  2,  200-204. 
3  Chatham  Correspondence,  4,  97-99. 


430    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

It  is  sad  to  record  that  this  dignified  and  almost 
pathetic  appeal  did  not  meet  with  the  response  which 
it  deserved.  Either  on  the  very  day  that  he  received 
Richmond's  letter,  or  the  day  following,  Chatham 
informed  Barre  that  "  Mr  Dowdeswell  peremptorily 
will  move  his  bill  concerning  juries  in  the  course  of 
next  week ;  when  the  friends  of  the  constitution  will, 
it  is  hoped,  strenuously  resist  this  compound  of  con- 
nection, tyranny  and  absurdity  "  ; 1  and  to  Calcraft 
he  expressed  the  hope  that  the  bill  would  "  meet  with 
the  reception  from  the  public  which  such  a  task-master 
deserves."  2  Moreover,  taking  his  cue  from  his  leader, 
Barre,  when  asked  by  Dowdeswell  to  attend  a  meeting 
at  Sir  George  Savile's  house,  declined  the  invitation 
on  the  ground  that  it  was  impossible  for  him  "  to  make 
part  of  a  company  which  was  to  discuss  a  measure 
which  I  not  only  disliked,  but  thought  myself  bound 
to  oppose  "  ; 3  and  if  this  sort  of  spirit  were  to  continue 
to  animate  the  followers  of  Chatham,  it  seemed  likely 
that  when  Dowdeswell  introduced  his  bill  into  the  house 
of  commons,  he  would  be  fiercely  attacked  by  many 
influential  members  of  the  opposition,  whose  votes 
would  go  to  swell  the  ministerial  majority.  Such  a 
complete  breach,  however,  was  averted  by  a  timely 
meeting  between  Rockingham  and  Chatham,  at  which, 
though  no  reconciliation  between  the  two  points 
of  view  was  affected,  it  was  probably  arranged  that 
Chatham's  followers  should  vote  for  the  introduction 
of  Dowdeswell's  bill  on  the  understanding  that  they 
should  be  completely  at  liberty  to  oppose  it  at  a  later 
stage.  "  I  have  seen,"  wrote  Chatham  to  Shelburne 
on  March  2nd,  "  Lord  Rockingham,  who  has  entered 

1  Chatham  Correspondence,  4,  100. 

2  Chatham  Correspondence,  4,  103-104. 

3  Chatham  Correspondence,  4,  100-102. 


THE  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION        431 

largely,  in  his  candid  and  temperate  manner,  into  the 
reasons  for  pursuing  Mr  Dowdeswell's  bill.  Your 
humble  servant  remained  .  .  .  unconvinced,  and  next 
week,  I  believe  Thursday,  it  will  come  on.  I  fear  much 
the  consequence,  and  false  comments,  if  our  friends  of 
the  long  robe  should  take  the  plan  of  saying  nothing 
the  first  day.  A  silent  disapprobation  of  a  bill  simply 
enacting,  will  not  be  distinguishable  from  the  disap- 
probation of  ministry  to  any  assertion  of  the  juror's 
rights.  The  wrong  bill,  it  seems  to  me,  should  be 
admitted  to  be  brought  in,  in  order  to  make  it  right, 
that  is,  declaratory,  in  the  committee."  1 

Such  a  compromise,  to  give  it  a  name  which  it 
hardly  deserves,  was  essentially  unsatisfactory  ;  and 
the  debate  in  the  house  of  commons  on  March  7th, 
when  Dowdeswell  asked  leave  to  introduce  his  bill, 
illustrated  the  deep  division  of  opinion  between  those 
who  ought  to  have  stood  united.  Not  by  their  votes, 
which,  for  the  most  part,  they  gave  against  the  ministry, 
but  by  their  words  did  the  followers  of  Chatham  betray 
their  dislike  of  Dowdeswell's  measure.  Barre,  Calcraft 
and  Dunning  chorused  their  disapproval  of  the  bill  and 
their  fervent  intention  to  amend  it  in  committee,  and 
there  were  some  who  went  further  than  they  did. 
Thus  James  Grenville,  a  nephew  of  the  dead  statesman, 
declared  that  he  could  not  give  his  vote  for  Dowdeswell's 
motion  as  he  would  never  admit  "  the  dangerous 
proposition  that  juries  are  judges  of  the  fact,  but  not 
of  the  law,"  and  Sir  William  Meredith,  once  a  loyal 
and  enthusiastic  member  of  the  Rockingham  party, 
seconded  a  motion  for  adjournment  which  was  proposed 
by  Constantine  Phipps,  and  carried  by  two  hundred 
and  eighteen  votes  to  seventy-two.  Such  a  substantial 
victory  was  all  the  more  gratifying  to  the  court  from 

1  Chatham  Correspondence,  4,  108-109. 


• 


432     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

having  been  obtained  without  a  single  member  of  the 
government,  with  the  exception  of  Conway  who  was 
more  of  the  body  than  of  the  soul  of  the  administration, 
raising  his  voice  in  the  discussion.  "  I  sincerely 
rejoice  at  the  very  good  conclusion  of  yesterday's 
debate,"  wrote  George  III.  to  his  first  minister,  "  and 
at  nothing  more  than  the  wisdom  of  leaving  the  opposi- 
tion, as  they  were  divided  in  their  sentiments,  the 
whole  altercation  ;  besides,  if  gentlemen  can  let  their 
reason  guide  them  to  differ  with  their  friends  on  what 
they  might  deem  a  popular  question,  it  is  to  be  hoped 
they  will  by  this  be  encouraged  to  hold  on  future 
occasions  the  same  propriety  of  conduct."  1 

Nor  was  it  only  at  court  that  there  was  joy,  for 
something  not  unlike  scornful  exultation  prevailed 
amongst  the  followers  of  Chatham.  "  You  see,  my 
lord,  what  a  glorious  day  yesterday  was  for  the  opposi- 
tion, and  particularly  for  its  leaders,"  wrote  Barre 
to  Chatham  on  March  8th.  "  Nothing  under  the 
humour  of  a  Swift  or  a  Rabelais  can  describe  it  to  you. 
I  went  down  to  the  house  very  angry  with  them,  but 
in  less  than  an  hour  they  forced  me  to  pity  them. 
Poor  things  !  They  told  me  that  they  never  would 
do  the  like  again."  2  Such  contemptuous  pity  was 
characteristic  of  the  vitriolic  Barre,  but  the  same 
bitter  tone  can  be  detected  in  the  milder  Calcraft's 
almost  gleeful  utterance  that  "  Mr  Dowdeswell,  Mr 
Burke,  and  their  few  followers  were  completely  dis- 
graced." 3  Yet,  it  is  difficult  to  see  any  justification 
for  joy  over  what,  from  the  standpoint  of  the  vigour 

1  Correspondence  of  George  III.  with  Lord  North,  i,  62.  For  the  debate 
see  Walpole's  Memoirs,  4,  188  ;  Pari.  Hist.,  xvii.,  43-58  ;  Cavendish  Debates,  2, 
352-377  ;  Letters  of  the  first  Earl  of  Malmesbury  (1870),  1,  219-220  ;  Chatham 
Correspondence,  4,  109-114. 

2  Chatham  Correspondence,  4,  109-114. 

3  Calcraft  to  Chatham,  March  8th,  1771  ;  Pitt  Papers,  R.  O.,  1st  series, 
vol.  xxv. 


THE  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION        433 

and  effectiveness  of  the  opposition,  was  nothing  short 
of  a  crowning  disaster.  Henceforth,  the  supporters 
of  Chatham  and  Rockingham  were  divided  by  a  gulf 
which,  if  not  unbridgeable,  was,  at  least,  unbridged.  A 
fatal  breach  had  been  effected,  and  the  history  of  the 
concluding  weeks  of  the  session,  though  not  without 
interest,  is  doleful  reading  enough.  A  detailed  account 
of  the  famous  struggle  between  the  commons  and  the 
city  of  London  is  hardly  necessary,  since  the  tale  has 
already  been  brilliantly  told  ;  but  it  cannot  be  entirely 
overlooked,  affording  as  it  does  such  ample  illustration 
of  the  lack  of  union  and  co-operation  between  the 
enemies  of  the  court.  Few  pages  in  eighteenth-century 
history  are  more  familiar  than  those  which  record  the 
ignoble  attempt  to  prohibit  the  publication  of  the 
parliamentary  debates,  the  apprehension  of  the  printers 
who  dared  to  disobey  the  orders  of  the  house,  their 
discharge  by  the  city  magistrates,  and  the  committal 
of  the  lord  mayor  and  Alderman  Oliver  to  the  Tower 
of  London  ;  but  it  is  not  so  well  known  that  in  the 
various  stages  of  this  lengthy,  tedious,  and  essentially 
futile  struggle,  the  followers  of  Rockingham  and 
Chatham,  while  certainly  united  in  opposing  a  policy 
which  could  only  end  in  loss  of  dignity  and  the  outburst 
of  popular  passion,  acted  so  independently  of  one 
another  as  to  make  their  resistance  of  little  or  no 
account.  At  the  very  height  of  the  contest  Chatham 
was  informed  by  Calcraft  that  "  opposition  are  in 
great  want  of  a  leader  and  a  general  system  "  ;x  and 
the  same  thought  was  probably  in  George  III.'s  mind 
when,  a  few  weeks  earlier,  he  told  North  that  "  there 
being  so  many  of  the  principal  persons  of  the  opposi- 
tion in  the  minority  this  day,  and  yet  the  number 
amounting   only   to    nineteen,   appears   rather   extra- 

1  Chatham  Correspondence,  4,  125-127. 
2  E 


434    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

ordinary." l  But  this  phenomenon  might  have 
occasioned  less  surprise  to  the  king  if  he  had  known, 
like  Calcraft,  of  the  absence  of  a  "  general  system." 
There  are  no  traces  of  any  meetings  between  the  two 
parties  during  this  struggle,  of  any  elaboration  of 
plans  in  common,  or  of  any  general  programme  of 
attack  ;  and  negative  though  such  testimony  may  be, 
it  throws  no  little  light  upon  the  parlous  condition 
into  which  the  opposition  had  fallen.  "  I  need  not  say, 
my  dear  friend,"  wrote  Chatham  to  Calcraft,  "  how 
little  is  left  to  keep  up  my  animation  towards  public 
affairs  :  the  desultoriness  and  no  plan  of  our  friend 
in  Pall  Mall ; 2  the  poor  weakness  of  Lord  Camden  ; 
the  no- weight  of  such  advice  as  I  can  give,  either  in 
the  city  or  Grosvenor  Square 3  are  circumstances  not 
very  encouraging  "  ;  and  this  was  a  cry  from  the  heart. 
Despair,  indeed,  reigned,  and  although,  before  the  session 
was  brought  to  an  end,  Chatham  moved  an  address 
for  the  dissolution  of  parliament,  this  was  but  the 
last  and  final  rally  before  the  complete  abandonment 
of  all  hope.  On  all  sides  he  encountered  disappoint- 
ment. Lord  Camden  whom  he  suspected  unjustly 
of  carrying  on  an  intrigue  with  the  government,  ex- 
pressed his  strong  disapproval  of  the  address,4  and  was 
supported  by  Lord  Lyttleton ; 5  and  Temple,  though 
he  approved,  refused  to  emerge  at  his  brother-in-law's 
bidding  from  that  political  seclusion  to  which  he  had 
condemned  himself  for  some  time  past.6 

The  downfall  of  the  opposition  was  indeed  complete, 
and  when  parliament  re-assembled  in  January,  1772, 

1  Correspondence  of  George  III.  with  Lord  North,  i,  58-59. 

*  Lord  Temple.  3  Lord  Rockingham. 

4  Chatham  Correspondence,  4,  161-162. 

5  Chatham  Correspondence,  4,  163-164. 

6Grenville   Papers,    4,    533-534.     Chatham    Correspondence,    4,    154-155, 
163-164. 


THE  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  OPPOSITION        435 

Chatham  was  not  found  in  his  place.  Writing  from 
his  Somersetshire  home,  he  told  Shelburne  that  he 
did  not  see  "  that  the  smallest  good  can  result  to  the 
public  from  my  coming  up  to  the  meeting  of  parlia- 
ment. A  headlong  self-willed  spirit  has  sunk  the  City 
into  nothing  :  attempting  powers  it  has  no  colour  of 
right  to,  it  has  lost  the  weight  to  which  it  is  entitled. 
In  another  quarter,  the  narrow  genius  of  old-corps 
connection  has  weakened  whiggism,  and  rendered 
national  union  on  revolution  principles  impossible  ; 
and  what  but  such  an  union  can  have  any  chance  to 
withstand  the  present  corruption."  x  He  was,  indeed, 
only  too  right  in  his  assertion  that  an  united  opposi- 
tion existed  no  longer,  and  that  it  was  vain  to  continue 
the  battle  against  the  administration.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  George  III.  had  won  the  greatest  victory 
of  his  reign,  and  England  now  stood  upon  the  threshold 
of  that  era  of  personal  government  which  was  destined 
to  be  productive  of  so  much  mischief.  All  the  per- 
sistence, the  courage  and  the  gallantry  which  had  been 
expended  upon  the  struggle  against  North  and  his 
predecessor,  Grafton,  seemed  wasted  ;  and  the  political 
ideals,  which  George  had  cherished  from  the  first 
and  never  abandoned  in  the  hour  of  greatest  adversity, 
were  about  to  find  complete  realisation.  Thus  the 
curtain  is  rung  down  upon  a  triumphant  king  and  the 
defeated  whigs  ;  and  the  grouping  of  the  characters 
at  the  close  of  this  act  in  the  political  drama  was 
certainly  not  accidental.  The  opposition  had  failed 
very  largely  because  it  deserved  to  fail,  and  neither 
Rockingham,  Chatham  nor  Grenville  can  escape  their 
share  of  the  responsibility  for  the  disaster.  All  three 
in  their  different  ways  helped  unconsciously,  but  none 
the  less  effectively,   to  promote  the  triumph  of  the 

1  Chatham  Correspondence,  4,  186-187. 


436     LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

court.  Rockingham,  not  marked  oat  by  nature  for 
a  political  career,  was  but  a  poor  substitute  for 
Newcastle  as  a  leader  of  a  party  ;  and  neither  Chatham 
nor  Grenville,  though  the  one  had  genius  and  the  other 
most  exemplary  industry,  ever  really  grasped  the 
essential  conditions  of  success  in  parliamentary  warfare. 
Yet  to  argue  that  it  would  have  been  better  if  the  battle 
had  never  been  waged,  would  be  to  overlook  much  of 
permanent  value  in  the  struggle.  No  little  instruction 
can  be  gleaned  from  blunders  and  mistakes  in  the 
past ;  and  a  study  of  this  brief  though  critical  period 
in  the  reign  of  George  III.  enforces  the  old  lesson 
contained  in  the  well-known  adage,  "  united  we  stand, 
divided  we  fall."  It  is  easy  enough  for  us  to  see  how 
fatal  were  the  consequences  of  the  division  of  the  whig 
party  into  three  separate  and,  too  often,  rival  camps  ; 
but  it  may  well  be  that  we  are  able  to  appreciate  the 
value  of  political  unity  because  we  have  been  instructed 
by  events  in  the  past.  In  the  early  days  of  George 
III.,  those  who  consistently  opposed  the  court  were 
constitutional  pioneers,  hewing  their  way  through 
many  obstructions,  and  compelled  to  make  their  own 
road  as  they  went  along  ;  and  if  they  sometimes  went 
astray,  and  were  lost  in  the  desert,  their  journey  was 
not  in  vain  ;  for  by  their  labours  they  lightened  the 
task  of  those  who  came  after  them. 


INDEX 

Abhorrers,  in  the  reign  of  Charles  II.,  276  and  n.  1. 

Albemarle,  George  Keppel,  third  Earl  of,  and  the  fall  of  the  Rockingham 
ministry  in  1766,  36  ;  and  the  overtures  to  the  Bedford  party  in 
December  1766,  97  ;  opposed  to  reduction  of  land  tax,  106  ;  and  the 
Duke  of  Bedford's  motion  on  10th  April  1767,  134  ;  prepared  to  forego 
his  claims  to  be  commander-in-chief,  156,  157  n.  1  ;  and  the  negotia- 
tion of  July  1767,  160-162  ;  his  visits  to  Woburn,  ibid,  and  183  and  n.  4  ; 
his  theory  to  account  for  failure  of  negotiation,  1 74  ;  his  anxiety  for  union 
with  Bedford  party,  177  ;  see  also  156  n.  1,  181,  187. 

Aldborough,  borough  of,  and  general  election  of  1768,  213  and  n.  4. 

Almon,  John,  libel  suit  against,  415-416. 

America,  South,  372. 

American  colonies  and  the  question  of  taxation  of,  38,  46,  55,  96  ;  discon- 
tent in,  after  repeal  of  stamp  act,  107-108,  128  ;  views  of  English  parties 
upon,  108 -1 10;  proper  policy  to  be  pursued  towards,  128-129; 
Shelburne's  sympathy  with,  51,  130;  attitude  of  Lord  Chatham  and 
Camden  towards,  in  1767,  130-131  ;  ministerial  policy  towards,  in  1767, 
129-145  ;  taxation  of,  by  Charles  Townshend,  141  -  145  ;  included  in 
secretaryship  of  state  for  the  southern  department  and  then  transferred, 
161,  192  ;  attitude  of  George  Grenville  towards,  167-168,  175  ;  influence 
of  dispute  with,  upon  domestic  politics,  176  ;  resistance  of,  to  revenue 
act,  232-234;  parliamentary  action  against,  in  session  of  1768-69,  247- 
255  ;  Chatham's  defence  of,  in  1770,  294  ;  and  repeal  of  the  revenue  act, 
347-349;  see  also  47,  121,  123,  162,  169,  293,  305,  323-324,  328,  365, 
415,419. 

Ancaster,  Peregrine  Bertie,  third  Duke  of,  moves  the  address  in  the  House 
of  Lords,  1770,  293. 

Anne,  Queen,  319. 

Apsley,  Henry  Bathurst,  first  Lord,  becomes  lord  chancellor,  405. 

Archer,  Lord,  202. 

Archer,  Mr,  202. 

Arthur's  club,  23  ;  meeting  of  Rockingham  and  Gower  at,  135. 

Austria  and  Frederick  the  Great,  71. 

Bagot,  Sir  William,  351. 

Bailey,  Abraham,  the  Duke  of  Newcastle's  steward,  215  n.  1. 

Banbury,  borough  of,  represented  in  parliament  by  Lord  North,  321. 

Barrd,  Isaac,  and  the  American  colonies,  248  ;  and  John  Wilkes,  271  ;  and 

the  Falkland  Islands,  408  n.  1,  411  ;  and  the  law  of  libel,  430-432. 
Barrington,    William    Wildman,    second    Viscount    Barrington,    secretary 

437 


438   LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

at-war  in  Lord  Rockingham's  first  administration,  38  ;  his  political 
opinions,  ibid.  ;  and  the  American  colonies,  248  ;  and  John  Wilkes,  263, 
264,  266. 

Bath,  William  Pulteney,  first  Earl  of,  in  opposition  to  Walpole,  25-26  ; 
compared  with  Chatham,  58  n.  2  ;  see  also  29. 

Bath,  Lord  Chatham  at,  69,  98,  101,  112  ;  the  Duke  of  Bedford  at,  69, 
216  n.  4. 

Bathurst,  Henry,  first  Lord  Apsley  ;  see  Apsley. 

Beaconsfield,  285,  287. 

Beauchamp,  Francis  Seymour  Conway,  Viscount,  79. 

Beckford,  William,  and  East  India  Company,  93,  102-103,  123-125  ;  and 
the  remonstrance  of  city  of  London,  342-346,  362  n.  1  ;  see  also 
100-101,  292  n.  3,  362. 

Bedford,  John  Russell,  fourth  Duke  of,  his  character,  59  ;  a  member  of  Gren- 
ville's  administration,  60  ;  rejects  Chatham's  overtures  in  October  1766, 
69  ;  negotiations  with  Chatham  in  November  and  December  1766,  86-87, 
195  n.  2  ;  his  views  on  the  East  India  Company,  95,  204  ;  his  relations 
with  Grenville  in  December  1766,  95-98  ;  his  motion  in  the  House  of 
Lords  on  10th  April  1767,  133-134  ;  visited  by  Newcastle  on  14th  April 
I7&7,  I34-I35  5  his  estimate  of  parliamentary  strength  of  the  opposition 
in  1767,  136;  and  the  act  suspending  the  powers  of  the  New  York 
Assembly,  139;  his  relations  with  Rockingham  in  1767,  121,  133,  152, 
153  ;  and  the  negotiation  of  July  1767,  161  and  n.  1,  163,  165, 167-170, 176  ; 
and  his  attitude  towards  the  Rockingham  whigs  in  the  autumn  of  1767, 
176-184,  179  n.  1  ;  his  blindness,  183,  193;  and  the  demand  of  the 
treasury  for  Grenville  in  the  autumn  of  1767,  183  n.  4;  anxious  to 
attack  the  ministry  in  the  autumn  session  1767,  186  ;  his  anger  with 
Rockingham,  186-187  ;  his  quarrel  with  the  Rockingham  party,  186- 
191  ;  his  interview  with  Newcastle,  November  1767,  188-190,  193;  allies 
himself  with  the  ministry,  191  - 193  ;  and  the  electioneering  contest 
between  Lowther  and  Portland,  216  n.  4  ;  and  the  American  colonies, 
252  ;  his  visit  to  Devonshire  in  1769,  278-279  ;  see  also  136,  153,  173, 
and  Bedford  party. 

Bedford  House,  135. 

Bedford  party,  their  character  and  political  opinions,  59-60  ;  difference  of 
opinion  with  Rockingham  whigs,  60 ;  their  relations  with  Rockingham 
whigs  in  the  summer  of  1766,  65  ;  attitude  towards  Chatham  in  1766, 
66  ;  and  the  embargo  upon  export  of  corn,  73-75  ;  and  the  indemnity 
bill,  89;  and  the  Eastjndia  Company,  94,  103-105,  124-125,  204;  and 
the  Rockingham  whigs  in  December  1766,  95-98;  negotiation  with  the 
Rockingham  whigs  in  March  1767,  119-121;  their  demand  of  the 
treasury  for  George  Grenville,  120  ;  improvement  of  their  relations 
with  the  Rockingham  whigs  in  the  spring  of  1767,  121-122,  124-125  ; 
unite  with  Rockingham  whigs  in  attacking  ministerial  colonial  policy, 
133-141  ;  their  suggested  inclusion  in  the  ministry  in  May  1767,  148- 
149  ;  overtures  to,  in  June  1767,  149  ;  and  the  negotiations  of  July  1767, 
I53-I54J  156-170,  158  ?i.  1,  173;  their  relations  with  the  Rockingham 
whigs  during  the  autumn  1767, 176-184;  their  rupture  with  Rockingham 


INDEX  439 

whigs,  186-191  ;  their  accession  to  ministry,  191-192,  192-193,  195-197 
and  n.  1,  235;  and  John  Wilkes,  227,  228,  229,  230,  260;  their 
antagonism  to  Shelburne,  234-235  ;  and  Lord  Rochford,  236  ;  opposed 
to  Camden,  237  n.  4  ;  and  the  American  colonies,  245  ;  see  also  63, 

147,  332. 

Bengal,  conquest  of,  90. 

Bennet,  curate  at  Aldborough,  213  and  «.  4. 

Bentinck,  William  Henry  Cavendish,  third  Duke  of  Portland  ;  see  Portland. 

Berkeley  Square,  the  Jesuit  of,  nickname  of  Lord  Shelburne,  51. 

Bernard,  Sir  Robert,  277  n.  2. 

Bertie,  Peregrine,  third  Duke  of  Ancaster  ;  see  Ancaster. 

Bessborough,  William  Ponsonby,  second  Earl  of,  resignation  of,  80-84  ; 
attempts  to  reconcile  the  Rockingham  whigs  with  Chatham,  82-84  '■> 
appointed  to  approach  Lord  Gower,  97  ;  his  opinion  of  the  Rockingham 
whigs,  98  ;  and  Bedford's  motion  on  10th  April  1767,  134. 

Blackstone,  Dr,  and  John  Wilkes,  270-271. 

Bolingbroke,  Henry  St  John,  first  Viscount,  political  philosophy  of,  4-5  ;  and 
George  III.,  212  ;  see  also  63. 

Bolton,  Harry  Paulett,  sixth  Duke  of,  and  the  Falkland  Islands,  412. 

Boroughs,  treasury  and  rotten,  11  ;  sale  of,  at  general  election  of  1768,  212- 
213  and  213  n.  1  and  2  ;  and  Chatham,  329. 

Boston,  and  Townshend's  revenue  act,  232,  249  ;  and  Sons  of  Liberty  of, 
256  ;  see  also  247,  252. 

Boulton,  Henry  Crabb,  a  director  of  the  East  India  Company,  125. 

Bradshaw,  Thomas,  secretary  of  the  treasury,  402  n.  5. 

Brett,  Sir  Piercy,  appointed  to  a  place  on  the  board  of  admiralty,  87. 

Bridgewater,  Francis  Egerton,  third  Duke  of,  187,  189,  191. 

Bristol,  George  William  Hervey,  second  Earl  of,  242  n.  1. 

Bristol,  Augustus  Hervey,  afterwards  third  Earl  of,  supports  nullum  tempus 
bill,  210  ;  accepts  a  lordship  of  the  admiralty,  405. 

Buccarelli,  the  governor  of  Buenos  Ayres,  374  ;  and  the  attack  upon  Port 
Egmont,  374,  375  and  ?i.  2,  377,  378,  379,  382,  384,  389  and  n.  1,  403. 

Buckinghamshire,  John  Hobart,  second  Earl  of,  his  opinion  of  the  Duke  of 
Richmond,  40  and  n.  1  ;  his  opinion  of  Charles  Townshend,  185  n.  1  ; 
see  also  280  n.  2,  341  n.  1. 

Buckinghamshire,  petition  of,  in  1769,  287  and  n.  2. 

Buenos  Ayres,  374,  377,  385. 

Burke,  Edmund,  and  the  party  system,  14  ;  elected  to  a  seat  in  parliament 
in  1766,  22  ;  defence  of  the  first  Rockingham  ministry,  36  ;  secretary  to 
Lord  Rockingham,  37  ;  estimate  of  Chatham's  ministry,  55  ;  attacks  the 
indemnity  bill,  89  n.  2  ;  and  the  East  India  Company,  94,  104,  203  ; 
opposed  to  opposition  to  land  tax,  106-107  ;  his  allusion  to  Charles 
Townshend,  117-118  :  and  the  negotiations  in  July  1767,  174;  his  in- 
fluence over  Rockingham,  178  ;  his  partiality  for  Conway,  178  n.  2  ;  his 
opinion  of  Chatham's  administration,  196;  and  the  nullum  tempus 
bill,  210;  and  colonial  policy,  251,  253;  and  the  Middlesex  election, 
261-263,  267-271  ;  and  the  popular  agitation  for  Wilkes,  276,  277  n.  1, 
278,  364;  and  co-operation  with  Grenville  in  1769,  280,  287-290;  his 


440   LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

dislike  of  Chatham,  282  n.  1,  286-287,  289-290,  363  n.  1  ;  contemptuous 
opinion  of  Newcastle,  291  ;  and  the  remonstrance  of  City  of  London, 
346  ;  his  "Thoughts  on  the  Cause  of  the  Present  Discontents,"  360-363  ; 
and  the  remonstrance  of  Yorkshire  freeholders,  363-364  ;  his  eulogy  on 
Grenville,  365-366  ;  and  the  Falkland  Islands,  411,  413  ;  and  the  law  of 
libel,  423,  425,  429,  432  ;  see  also  248,  326. 
Bute,  John  Stuart,  third   Earl    of,  his   character  and   statesmanship,  6-8 
appointed  secretary   of  state,    7  n.   1  ;  becomes  first  lord  of  the  trea 
sury,  6  ;    his  resignation,  8  ;  political  influence  after  resignation,  8-9 
supported  by  Shelburne,  51  ;  and  Frederick  the  Great,  70  and  n.  1  ;  and 
Lord  Chatham,  81,  87-88  ;  attack  upon  his  house  by  the  mob  in  1768, 
224;  and  Wilkes,  228-230;    his  unpopularity,  318;    and  Wedderburn 
327  ;  and  Lord  Percy,  331  ;  see  also  2,  18,  22,  29,  30,  33,  136,  162,  171 
179,  180  ft.  2,  181,  205,  218,  368. 

Calcraft,  John,  and  Lord  Chatham,  in  1770,  331,  337-338,  347,  409  ;  and  the 
law  of  libel,  424,  430-432  ;  see  also  433"434- 

Cambridge,  county  of,  311. 

Camden,  Charles  Pratt,  first  Earl,  promoted  to  peerage,  39  ;  consulted  by 
the  king  about  the  formation  of  the  Chatham  ministry,  44  n.  3  ;  his 
ruling  on  parliamentary  privilege  and  general  warrants,  52,  221  ;  be- 
comes lord  chancellor,  52-53,  298  ;  opposed  to  the  declaratory  act, 
55,  237  n.  4,  250  ;  his  views  on  the  suspending  power,  74,  88  ;  and  the 
American  colonies,  130, 168  ;  and  John  Wilkes,  219,  227  and  n.  2,  228,  260 
and  n.  1,  292  and  n.  3,  295  ;  and  Chatham's  resignation,  236-238  ;  and 
expulsion  of  Shelburne,  237  ;  his  dislike  of  the  administration,  242  n.  1, 
245  ;  and  repeal  of  the  revenue  act,  254,  255  n.  1,  292  ;  treacherous 
conduct  of,  291-292,  292  n.  3  and  4  ;  his  relations  with  Chatham  in 
1 769- 1 770,  292-293,  292  n.  4  ;  opposes  the  government  in  January  1770, 
295  ;  dismissed  from  office,  295-296,  300  and  n.  2,  309,  319  ;  hostility  to 
the  ministry,  326  ;  attacked  by  Weymouth  and  Sandwich  in  February 
j770j  336  ;  and  the  Falkland  Islands,  397  ;  friendly  with  the  Rocking- 
ham whigs,  but  discontented  with  Chatham,  407  ;  and  the  law  of  libel, 
417-418,  420-421,  426  and  n.  1,  427,  428  and  n.  1  ;  see  also  148,  155, 
156,  157  n.  1,  160,  196,  299,  301,  354,  405,  434. 

Canada,  conquest  of,  28,  232  ;  government  of,  41. 

Canterbury,  Archbishop  of,  173. 

Carlisle,  election  at,  in  1768,  217. 

Carnarvon,  Henry  Herbert,  first  Earl  of,  375  n.  2. 

Carteret,  John,  Lord  Carteret,  Earl  Granville,  and  George  II.,  7  ;  in  opposi- 
tion to  Walpole,  25-26  ;  see  also  29,  413. 

Caulfeild,  James,  fourth  Viscount  and  first  Earl  of  Charlemont  ;  see 
Charlemont. 

Cavendish,  Lord  Frederick,  opposed  to  the  Bedford  party,  179  and  «.  2  ; 
see  also  156  n.  1,  180. 

Cavendish,  Lord  John,  resigns  his  place  at  the  treasury  board,  61  ;  opposed 
to  the  Bedford  party,  179  ;  see  also  156  n.  1,  180  n.  2,  346,  364. 

Cavendish,  William,  fourth  Duke  of  Devonshire  ;  see  Devonshire. 


INDEX  441 

Charlemont,  James  Caulfeild,  fourth  Viscount  and  first  Earl  of,  270. 

Charles  I.,  343. 

Charles  II.,  40  and  n.  1,  276  and  n.  1. 

Chatham,  Hester  Pitt,  Countess  of,  29,  283  and  n.  1,  284  and  n.  3,  325, 
351  n.  2. 

Chatham,  William  Pitt,  first  Earl  of,  political  and  constitutional  opinions  of, 
30-33,  39-40  ;  in  coalition  ministry,  5-6,  57  ;  popularity  of,  6,  27-28  ; 
nickname  of  the  "great  commoner,"  28  ;  resignation  of,  in  1761,  28,  29, 
240;  accepts  pension,  29;  declines  to  join  the  opposition,  29-30,  31, 
33  ;  refusal  to  take  office  in  May  and  June  1765,  34-35  ;  relations  with 
Grafton  in  the  first  Rockingham  ministry,  37-38  ;  relations  with  first 
Rockingham  ministry,  38-40 ;  summoned  by  the  king  to  form  an 
administration,  44  ;  his  poor  opinion  of  Lord  Rockingham  and  Dowdes- 
well,  45,  53  ;  construction  of  his  ministry,  44-54,  321  ;  views  on  colonial 
taxation,  46,  no;  opposed  to  the  declaratory  act,  55,  250;  and  Lord 
Shelburne,  51  ;  relations  with  Rockingham  whigs  embittered  by 
Charles  Yorke,  52  ;  his  dependence  upon  support  of  the  crown,  55,  56, 
65,  86,  199  ;  accepts  office  of  privy  seal  and  a  peerage,  57-58,  65  ;  his 
loss  of  popularity,  58-59,  58  and  n.  2  ;  antagonism  to  party  system, 
44  n.  2,  49-50,  55,  60,  86-87,  J49>  I9S  >  sanguine  hopes  at  beginning  of 
his  administration,  64-65  ;  his  attitude  towards  the  Rockingham  whigs, 
69;  his  overtures  to  the  Bedford  party  in  autumn,  1766,  69,  86-87, 
195  n.  2  ;  and  the  Prussian  alliance,  39,  55,  69-72  ;  and  the  embargo 
on  export  of  corn,  72-74  ;  and  the  dismissal  of  Lord  Edgecumbe,  75-86, 
82  n.  2  ;  alliance  with  followers  of  Lord  Bute,  87-88  ;  insensible  to  the 
difficulties  of  his  ministers,  98-99;  at  Bath,  112;  and  East  India 
Company,  89-92,  94,  100,  101,  102  and  n.  3,  125-126,  281  ;  and  the 
American  colonies,  109,  130-131,  168,  294;  and  Charles  Townshend, 
54,  115;  his  breakdown  in  health,  112-116;  at  Hampstead  and  Hayes, 
115-116,  194,  235  ;  dissensions  in  his  administration,  54,  94,  99,  100, 
105,  124-125,  128  ;  refusal  to  see  Grafton,  146  ;  interview  with  Grafton 
in  May  1767,  147-149  ;  appealed  to  by  George  III.  in  June  and  July 
1767,  150,  151  ;  and  the  admission  of  the  Bedfords  into  the  cabinet, 
235  ;  his  resignation,  235-237,  242,  246 ;  his  reappearance  in  public  in 

1769,  p.  281  ;  his  interview  with  the  king,  281,  282  n.  1  ;  and  John  Wilkes, 
219-223,  281,  284  and  n.  3,  294,  340,  354,  413,  414;  his  reconciliation 
with  Grenville  and  Temple  in  1769,  282-286;  in  favour  of  petitioning, 
287,  340-341  ;  in  favour  of  co-operation  with  Lord  Rockingham  in  1769- 

1770,  289-290,  295,  325,  327  ;  his  anxiety  to  attack  the  government,  291, 
326  ;  his  relations  with  Camden  in  1769- 1770,  292-293,  292  n.  4  ;  attacks 
the  government  in  House  of  Lords  in  January  1770,  293-294  ;  and  offer 
of  lord  chancellorship  to  Charles  Yorke,  303  ;  disliked  by  George  III., 
316-320  ;  his  visit  to  Lord  Rockingham  in  January  1770,  325,  327  n.  1  ; 
speeches  against  the  government  in  January  and  February  1770,  328- 
33°)  336-338  ;  and  parliamentary  reform,  329  and  n.  1,  362  ;  his  deter- 
mination to  adhere  to  Lord  Rockingham  in  1770,  340-341,  342,  346-347, 
363,  392  n.  1  ;  and  the  remonstrance  of  the  City  of  London  in  1770, 
344,  354-355,  362  n.  I  ;  his  determination  to  persist  in  opposition,  352- 


442    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

354,  353  n.  I  ;  his  address  for  the  dissolution  of  parliament,  355-359, 
358  n.  3  and  4,  434  ;  his  sympathy  with  the  extreme  section  of  the 
opposition,  356,  360  ;  his  dislike  of  the  moderation  of  the  Rockingham 
whigs,  361-364  ;  and  "Thoughts  on  the  Cause  of  the  Present  Discon- 
tents," 361-363,  363  n.  1  ;  and  the  Yorkshire  remonstrance,  363-364; 
and  the  Falkland  Islands,  392-398,  396  n.  4,  404,  407-413,  408  n.  1  ;  and 
the  law  of  libel,  419-432  ;  his  high  opinion  of  Dunning,  424  and  n.  1  ; 
his  breach  with  the  Rockingham  party,  419,  432-436  ;  see  also  15,  136, 
3i6,  33°,  332,  333,  335,  34*  »•  h  362  n.  1,  365,  367,  368,  371,  397  n.  1, 
426  n.  1,  428  n.  1. 

Chesterfield,  Philip  Dormer  Stanhope,  fourth  Earl  of,  and  the  general  elec- 
tion of  1768,  212  ;  and  the  Duke  of  Newcastle,  239  ;  and  Wilkes,  244. 

Chichester,  Thomas  Pelham,  of  Stanmer,  first  Earl  of,  215. 

Chichester,  parliamentary  election  at,  in  1768,  216. 

Choiseul,  Due  de,  and  the  annexation  of  Corsica,  232  ;  and  the  dispute 
between  England  and  Spain  over  the  Falkland  Islands,  373,  375  n.  2, 
378-382,  384  n.  1,  386-391,  389  n.  1,  393  n.  2,  398-399,  4°i  ;  fall  of,  402 
and  n.  3. 

Churchill,  John,  first  Duke  of  Marlborough  ;  see  Marlborough. 

Claremont,  meeting  at,  in  December  1766,  97. 

Clavering,  Colonel,  and  Languard  Fort,  345  and  n.  2. 

Clavering,  Sir  Thomas,  and  the  remonstrance  of  the  City  of  London  in  1770, 
345  and  n.  2,  346. 

Clive,  Robert,  first  Baron  Clive,  and  general  election  of  1768,  214 ;  and 
Wedderburn,  404  n.  2. 

Cocks,  Charles,  opinion  of  Worcestershire  petition,  278  n.  2. 

Colonies,  American  ;  see  America  n.  colonies. 

Compact,  family,  of  1761,  political  importance  of,  70,  376,  378,  382,  399. 

Conway,  Francis  Seymour,  first  Earl  of  Hertford  ;  see  Hertford. 

Conway,  Francis  Seymour,  Viscount  Beauchamp  ;  see  Beauchamp. 

Conway,  Henry,  his  character,  77-78,  118;  secretary  of  state  in  the  first 
Rockingham  ministry,  41  ;  relations  with  Rockingham  and  Newcastle, 
41  ;  retained  by  Pitt  as  secretary  of  state,  45,  50  ;  reasons  for  his  trans- 
ference to  the  northern  department,  50-51  ;  relations  with  the  Rock- 
ingham whigs,  67-69,  68  n.  2  ;  and  dismissal  of  Edgecumbe,  77-86  ; 
his  threat  of  resignation,  79  n.  2,  82  ;  anxiety  of  Rockingham  whigs  to 
force  him  into  resignation,  78-84  ;  he  continues  in  office,  84-85  ;  his 
dissatisfaction  with  Chatham,  85-86  ;  introduces  indemnity  bill,  88  ; 
and  the  East  India  Company,  94,  101,  102-103,  124-125,  124  n.  3,  127  ; 
and  the  American  colonies,  55,  109,  130,  131,  138,  139-141  ;  in  agreement 
with  Charles  Townshend,  118;  and  the  Rockingham  whigs  in  the 
spring  of  1767,  134;  differences  with  his  colleagues,  145-146;  his 
anxiety  to  resign,  149,  165-166  ;  and  the  negotiations  in  July  1767,  154- 
158,  155  11.  2,  165  n.  1,  168-169,  173-174  ;  consents  to  continue  as  secre- 
tary of  state,  171-173,  172  n.  1  ;  Rockingham's  partiality  for,  176  ;  and 
the  Rockingham  whigs  in  the  autumn  of  1767,  177-184,  178  n.  2,  179, 
n.  1,  180  n.  2  ;  resigns  secretaryship  of  state,  192  ;  and  John  Wilkes, 
220,  228,  261,   267  ;  superseded  by  North  as  leader  of  the  House  of 


INDEX  443 

Commons,  228  and  n.  3,  321  ;  and  repeal  of  revenue  act,  254  ;  interview 
with  king  on  22nd  January  1770,  316;  as  acting  master  of  ordnance, 
391  n.  4;  and  the  law  of  libel,  432;  see  also  42,  61,  165-166,  196,  197  n.  1. 

Cooke,  George,  and  the  land  tax  act,  106  n.  1. 

Cooksey,  Holland,  and  the  Worcestershire  petition,  278  n.  2. 

Corn,  embargo  placed  upon  export  of,  72-74  ;   parliamentary  attack  upon, 

74-75- 
Cornwall,  electioneering  influence  of  the  Crown  in,  1 1  ;  Lord  Edgecumbe's 

electioneering  influence  in,  76,  214. 
Cornwall,  Charles,  and  the  law  of  libel,  422-424. 
Cornwallis,  General,  391. 
Corradini,  and  John  Wilkes,  219. 
Corsica,  annexation  of,  by  France,  231-232,  234. 
Cotes,  Humphrey,  277  n.  2. 
Covent  Garden,  gentleman  of  the  Cave  in,  256. 
Coventry,  George  William  Coventry,  sixth  Earl  of,  341  ft.  1. 
Craven,  William  Craven,  sixth  Lord,  341. 
Crown,  influence  of,  under  George  I.  and  II.,  2,  12,  13,  32  ;  under  George 

III.,  2-5,  5  n.  1,  7,  8-12,  15-16,  18,  35-37,  56,  65,  86,  152,  203. 
Cumberland,  influence  of  Sir  James  Lowther  and  the  Duke  of  Portland  in, 

at  general  election  of  1768,  205,  206,  216-217. 
Curwen,  Henry,  one  of  the  parliamentary  representatives  for  Cumberland, 

248  n.  2. 
Cyder  tax,  23,  27,  175,  328  ;  repeal  of,  36. 

D'Aranda,  Monsieur,  398  n.  3. 

Dartmouth,  William  Legge,  second  Earl  of  Dartmouth,  274  11.  I. 

Darwin,  Charles,  his  account  of  the  Falkland  Islands,  372  and  n.  1. 

Dashwood,  Sir  Francis,  Lord  Despenser ;  see  Despenser. 

Declaratory  Act,  Newcastle  opposed  to,  38;  Pitt  opposed  to,  55,  250; 
Camden  opposed  to,  55,  237  n.  4,  250  ;  supported  by  Conway,  55  ;  see 
also  348. 

Despenser,  Francis  Dashwood,  Lord,  made  Joint  Postmaster-General,  87  ; 
his  character,  ibid. 

Devizes,  278. 

Devonshire,  Lord  Edgecumbe's  electioneering  influence  in,  76  ;  the  Duke 
of  Bedford's  visit  to,  in  1769,  278-279. 

Devonshire,  William  Cavendish,  fourth  Duke  of,  a  member  of  the  Rocking- 
ham party,  19  ;  his  opinion  of  Pitt,  30  ;  see  also  22,  79. 

Dividend  act,  126-127,  203-205. 

D'Ossun,  French  Ambassador  in  Spain,  375  n.  2,  386,  390,  401. 

Douglas  -  Hamilton,  Elizabeth,  Dowager-Duchess  of  Hamilton  ;  see 
Hamilton. 

Dowdeswell,  William,  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  in  the  first  Rockingham 
Ministry,  53  ;  his  loss  of  office,  ibid.  ;  his  political  ability,  53-54  ;  and 
the  East  India  Company,  104,  203  ;  proposes  reduction  of  the  land  tax, 
105-107  ;  and  the  New  York  Suspending  Act,  140-141  ;  and  the  nego- 
tiations of  July  1767,  167-169  ;  and  the  nullum  tempus  bill,  210  ;  and 


444    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

the  proposal  to  revive  a  treason  law,  253  ;  and  John  Wilkes,  271  ;  and 
overtures  to  Grenville  in  May  1769,  273  ;  and  Worcestershire  petition, 
278  n.  2  ;  and  the  parliamentary  session  of  1770,  330,  334-335,  337  and 
n.  2  ;  and  the  Falkland  Islands,  395,  397,  409,  411,  412  ;  and  the  law  of 
libel,  423,  427-432,  428  n.  1  ;  see  also  22,  54  n.  3,  139,  156  n.  1,  187,  188, 
201  and  n.  1,  248,  295,  326. 

Dundas,  Sir  Laurence,  104  n.  1. 

Dunk,  George  Montagu,  second  Earl  of  Halifax  ;  see  Halifax. 

Dunning,  John,  and  the  Aldborough  election,  213  n.  4  ;  solicitor-general, 
261  ;  and  John  Wilkes,  ibid.  ;  opposes  ministry  in  1770,  295  ;  resigna- 
tion of,  315  ;  and  the  law  of  libel,  423,  431  ;  Chatham's  high  opinion  of, 
423,  424  and  n.  1. 

Dyson,  Jeremiah,  introduces  the  dividend  bill,  127  ;  and  the  elections  act,  350. 

East  India  Company,  its  growth  and  development,  90-92  ;  parliamentary 
inquiry  into,  92-93,  99-101,  102-105,  122-125  '■>  declares  a  dividend  of  10 
per  cent,  in  1766,  93  ;  ministers  divided  about,  93-94,  99-101  ;  and  the 
Rockingham  whigs,  95,  97,  103-105,  203-205  ;  and  overtures  to  govern- 
ment, 100  and  n.  1,  102  and  n.  2  and  3,  125-126  ;  act  dealing  with,  126- 
127  ;  and  the  act  restraining  dividends,  126-127,  203-205  ;  defended  by 
Charles  Yorke,  298  ;  see  also  107,  133,  145. 

Edgecumbe,  George,  third  Baron,  a  member  of  the  Rockingham  party,  75  ; 
his  electioneering  influence  in  Devon  and  Cornwall,  76  ;  dismissal  from 
the  office  of  treasurer  of  the  household,  75-85  ;  and  the  general  election 
of  1768,  214. 

Egerton,  Francis,  third  Duke  of  Bridgewater  ;  See  Bridgewater. 

Egmont,  John  Perceval,  second  Earl  of,  first  lord  of  the  admiralty  in  the 
ministries  of  Rockingham  and  Chatham,  53  ;  and  alliance  with  Prussia 
and  Russia,  55;  resignation  of,  65  and  n.  2;  not  a  member  of  the 
Rockingham  party,  67. 

Egmont,  Port,  English  settlement  in  the  Falkland  Islands,  373  ;  attacked 
and  taken  by  the  Spaniards  in  1770,  370,  374-375,  375  «•  2,  377,  379, 
384,  394,  395,  403,  412. 

Election,  general,  of  1768,  21 1-2 17,  223-224,  248  n.  2. 

Elections  Act,  of  George  Grenville,  349-351,  351  n.  1  and  2. 

"  Essay  on  Woman,"  264-265. 

Essex,  278. 

Exeter,  attack  upon  the  Duke  of  Bedford  at,  279. 

Excise  bill,  27. 

Falkland  Islands,  description  of,  371-372,  372  n.  1  ;  French  and  English 
settlements  in,  372-373  ;  Spanish  attack  upon  English  settlement  in, 
37o,  373-375,  375  n.  2  ;  negotiations  with  Spain  concerning,  375-389, 
389  n.  1,  391,  398-404,  408  n.  1  ;  the  parliamentary  opposition  and,  391- 
396,  408-413. 

Finch,  Daniel,  eighth  Earl  of  Winchelsea ;  see  Winchelsea. 

Fitzherbert,  Mr,  and  John  Wilkes,  257  n.  1. 

Fitzmaurice,  William,  second  Earl  of  Shelburne  ;  see  Shelburne. 


INDEX  445 

Fitzroy,  Augustus  Henry,  third  Duke  of  Grafton  ;  see  Grafton. 

Fletcher,  Henry,  and  the  Cumberland  election,  248  n.  2. 

Florence,  Sir  Horace  Mann  at,  404. 

Fox,  Henry,  first  Lord  Holland  ;  see  Holland. 

Fox,  Stephen,  eldest  son  of  Lord  Holland,  and  the  meeting  at  Devizes,  278. 

France,  war  and  peace  with  France,  7,  18,  28,  30  ;  and  Frederick  the  Great, 
72  ;  Wilkes  in,  219  ;  annexation  of  Corsica  by,  231-232,  234  ;  and  the 
Falkland  Islands,  373,  375  n.  2,  376,  378-382,  386-391,  389  n.  1,  398-399, 
402  and  n.  3,  403  n.  2,  409-411,  410  n.  1  ;  see  also  70. 

Frankland,  Frederick  Meinhardt,  215. 

Fraser,  Simon,  338. 

Frederick  the  Great,  King  of  Prussia,  27-5  project  of  an  alliance  with,  during 
the  first  Rockingham  ministry,  39 ;  Pitt  in  favour  of,  and  Lord  Egmont 
opposed  to  an  alliance  with,  55  ;  Chatham's  overtures  to,  69-72  ;  and 
the  Russian  alliance,  71. 

Frederick,  Prince  of  Wales,  n  n.  1. 

Gage,  William  Hall,  second  Viscount  Gage,  and  the  parliamentary  election 
at  Lewes  in  1768,  215. 

General  warrants  ;  see  warrants. 

Genoa,  loss  of  Corsica  by,  231-232. 

George  II.,  decline  of  influence  of  the  crown  under,  2,  12-13,  32i  lS2  >  and 
the  Duke  of  Newcastle,  15  ;  his  opinion  of  Lord  Weymouth,  198  ;  death 
of,  41. 

George  III.,  his  accession  and  constitutional  opinions,  1-5,  3  n.  r,  5  n.  1  ; 
his  attack  upon  the  coalition  ministry,  5-8  ;  and  ministerial  relations 
with  George  Grenville,  8-10  ;  and  the  overthrow  of  the  whig  party,  10- 
12,  15-16;  and  John  Wilkes,  26-27,  218-222,  227,  230,  260,  275;  and 
William  Pitt  in  1761,  28-29;  his  fear  of  a  coalition  between  Pitt  and 
Newcastle,  33  ;  his  dislike  of  George  Grenville,  33-34,  35,  39,  149,  320  ; 
negotiations  with  the  Rockingham  whigs  in  May  1765,  34  ;  his  negotia- 
tions with  Pitt  in  June  1765,  34  ;  and  the  offer  of  the  chancellorship  to 
Charles  Yorke,  43-44,  296,  306  and  n.  3,  307-308,  307  n.  3  ;  and  the  first 
Rockingham  ministry,  35-37 ;  his  refusal  to  create  peers,  yj  ;  his 
objection  to  the  Duke  of  Richmond  as  secretary  of  state,  40-41  ;  his 
situation  in  the  summer  of  1766,  41  ;  he  dismisses  the  first  Rockingham 
ministry,  42-44  ;  and  the  formation  of  Lord  Chatham's  administration, 
44  and  n.  2,  45  ;  Chatham's  confidence  in,  55-56  ;  his  dislike  of  the 
system  of  party  government,  86-87  ;  visited  by  Grafton  and  Northington 
in  May  1767,  146  ;  his  appeals  to  Chatham,  146-147,  150,  151  ;  in  favour 
of  overtures  being  made  to  the  Rockingham  whigs  in  June  1767,  149  ; 
visited  by  Grafton  on  3rd  July  1767,  150-15 1,  150  n.  3  ;  his  conspicuous 
courage,  151-152;  and  negotiations  with  the  whig  opposition,  152-175, 
164  n.  1,  172  n.  1  ;  his  opinion  of  Lord  Sandwich,  192  n.  2  ;  his  original 
distrust  of  the  Bedford  party,  196-197  ;  his  conciliatory  disposition 
towards,  197 ;  ministerial  relations  with  Lord  Chatham,  199 ;  his 
opinion  of  Lord  Hillsborough,  199  ;  advantage  accruing  to,  from  the 
accession  of  the  Bedfords  to  the  ministry,  199-200;  and  the  "patriot 


446    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

king,"  212  ;  his  dislike  of  Shelburne,  234  ;  and  the  Duke  of  Grafton,  243  ; 
his  anxiety  about  the  parliamentary  session  of  1770,  293  and  n.  2  ;  and 
the  resignation  of  Grafton,  315-320  ;  calls  upon  Lord  North  to.be  prime 
minister,  315-317,  320-321  ;  the  difficulties  he  encountered  during  the 
first  decade  of  his  reign,  318-320;  his  antagonism  to  Rockingham  and 
Chatham  in  1770,  316,  320;  and  Lord  North,  322,  324,  328,  335,  351- 
352;  and  the  city  of  London  in  1770,  343-344  ;  and  the  Falkland 
Islands,  389  n.  1,  393"394  \  letter  of  Junius  to,  414-415  ;  and  the  parlia- 
mentary debates  on  the  law  of  libel,  432  ;  his  triumph  over  the  opposition, 
433-436  !  see  also  309»  333?  337  and  n.  2. 
Gibraltar,  391,  395. 

Glynn,  John,  serjeant-at-law,  and  the  law  of  libel,  423,  424,  425. 
Gower,  Granville  Leveson-Gower,  second  Earl,  his  character,  198-199,  199 
n.  1  ;  a  member  of  the  Bedford  party,  66  ;  invited  to  become  first  lord 
of  the  admiralty,  66  ;  offered  the  post  of  master  of  the  horse,  86  ;  to  be 
approached  by  Lord  Bessborough,  97  ;  his  meeting  with  Rockingham 
on  3rd  May  1767,  135  ;  his  motion  in  the  House  of  Lords  on  6th  May 
1767,  135  5  and  on  22nd  May   1767,  136;  overtures  of  Grafton  to,  in 
June  1767,  149,  195  n.  2;  and  in  July  1767,  153-154;  and  the  negotia- 
tion with  the  Rockingham  whigs  in  July  1767,  157  ;  joins  the  ministry, 
192,  196  ;  and  the  East  India  Company,  204  ;  opposes  total  repeal  of 
revenue  act,  254  ;  see  also  158,  243,  317. 
Grafton,  Augustus  Henry  Fitzroy,  third  Duke  of,  his  character  and  political 
ability,  19-20,  231  ;  in  opposition  to  the  court,  19-20  ;  secretary  of  state 
for  the  northern  department  in  first   Rockingham   ministry,  37  ;   his 
relations  with  his  colleagues,  37-38  ;  enthusiasm  for  Pitt,  37-38,  44  n. 
2,  68  ;  resignation  of  office,  40 ;  accepts  the  office  of  first  lord  of  the 
treasury  in   Chatham's  ministry,  49-50;  his  anxiety  to  have  Charles 
Townshend  as  chancellor  of  the  exchequer,  54  ;  his  relations  with  the 
Rockingham  whigs,  67-69  ;  timidity  of,  86  ;  and  the  East  India  Company, 
93,  100,  124-125;  his  weakness  in  the  cabinet,  99,  112,  116-119;  and  the 
American  colonies,  109,  130,  143,  233-234,  248-255  ;  and  Charles  Town- 
shend, 112  ;  and  Chatham's  return  to  London  in  1767,  114-115  ;  reasons 
for  his  continuance  in  office,  116-117;  dissensions  in  his  cabinet,  146, 
245  ;  his  visit  to  the  king  in  May  1767,  146  ;  his  anxiety  to  resign,  147, 
148,  150,  152,  159;?.  2,  166,  171  and  n.  1,  194-195,  242-245,  291  ;  his  in- 
terview with  Chatham  on  31st  May   1767,  147-149;  weakness  of  his 
ministry,  148,  231  ;  overtures  to  Lord  Gower,  149,  153-154,  195  n.  2  ;  his 
visit  to  the  king  in  July  1767,  1 50-1 51,  150  n.  3  ;  the  desire  of  the  king  to 
retain  him  at  the  treasury,  153,  159  n.  2  ;  interview  with  Rockingham  on 
7th  July  1767,  158-160;  and  the  negotiations  of  July  1767,  163-167,  164 
n.  2,  165  n.  1,  166  n.  1,  173  ;  interview  with  Rockingham  on  23rd  July 
1767,  1 70-1 7 1  ;  consents  to  continue  in  office,  172  and  n.  1  ;  his  hopes 
for  the  parliamentary  session,  1767-1768,  184  and  n.  3,  186;  and  the 
alliance  with  the  Bedford  party,  192-193,  195  n.   1,  195-197,  197  n.   1, 
204;  and  the  general  election  of  1768,  214,  217  and  n.  2;  and  John 
Wilkes,  219-223,  228,  230,  257  and  n.  1,  260  and  n.  1  ;  his  conversation 
with  Rockingham  in   1768,  229;  and   Lord  Shelburne,  234-235  ;  and 


INDEX  447 

resignation  of  Chatham,  235-236;  his  position  in  the  autumn  of  1768, 
242-245  ;  and  repeal  of  the  revenue  act,  254  ;  and  the  offer  of  the 
chancellorship  to  Charles  Yorke,  296,  301-303,  305  and  n.  2,  306,  314  ; 
his  resignation,  315  and  n.  2,  318-320,  332-333,  335  ;  seconds  an  opposi- 
tion motion  in  the  upper  house  on  22nd  January  1770,  328  ;  see  also 
40  n.  1,  61,  310,  319-321,  339-340,  35I>  384  n.  1,  402  n.  5,  435. 

Granby,  John  Manners,  Marquis  of,  master  of  ordnance  in  first  Rockingham 
ministry,  53  ;  commander-in-chief,  ibid.  ;  voted  against  the  repeal  of  the 
stamp  act,  55  ;  and  John  Wilkes,  228  ;  and  repeal  of  the  revenue  act, 
254  ;  treacherous  conduct  of,  291-293  ;  opposes  the  ministry  in  1770,  295  ; 
resignation  of,  307  n.  4,  309,  315,  319,  391  n.  5  ;  see  also  155,  156,  157  n.  1. 

Grantham,  Thomas  Robinson,  first  Lord,  supports  the  Duke  of  Bedford's 
motion  on  April  10th,  1767,  134. 

Granville,  John,  Lord  Carteret,  Earl  ;  see  Carteret. 

Grenville,  George,  character  and  statesmanship  of,  9-10,  10  n.  1  ;  becomes 
first  lord  of  the  treasury,  8  ;  and  George  III.,  8-10,  33-35,  39,  149,  320  ; 
and  stamp  act,  36,  96,  175,  232-233;  and  formation  of  Chatham's 
ministry,  47;  antagonism  to  Shelburne,  51  ;  his  opinion  of  Chatham's 
attack  upon  the  party  system,  66  ;  and  the  embargo  upon  export  of  corn, 
73-75  '■>  and  the  indemnity  bill,  88-89,  89  «.  2  ;  and  the  East  India  Com- 
pany, 94,  95,  104-105,  104  ?i.  1,  204-205,  205  n.  2  ;  and  the  Rockingham 
whigs  in  December  1766,  95-98;  and  the  land  tax,  106-107  ;  and  the 
extension  of  the  mutiny  act  to  America,  108  ;  and  the  Rockingham 
whigs  in  March  1767,  119-121  ;  conciliatory  attitude  towards  Rocking- 
ham in  the  spring  of  1767,  133;  and  the  New  York  suspending  act, 
139-141  ;  presses  Charles  Tovvnshend  to  tax  the  colonies,  141  ;  pro- 
scribed in  the  negotiation  with  the  Bedford  party  in  June  1767,  149; 
co-operation  with  Rockingham  in  1767,  152,  153;  proscription  placed 
upon,  in  negotiations  of  July  1767,  160-161,  164;  and  the  negotia- 
tions of  July  1767,  160-162,  161  11.  1,  165,  167-171,  173-176, 
179  n.  1  ;  colonial  policy  of,  162,  175,  247,  250,  251  ;  and  the  peace 
of  Paris,  175  ;  and  John  Wilkes,  175,  218,  246,  258  and  n.  2,  261-267, 
264  n.  1  and  2,  271-272,  284-285,  284  n.  3  ;  and  the  Rockingham  whigs 
in  the  autumn  of  1767,  179-184,  180  n.  2,  183  n.  4  ;  his  declaration 
against  Rockingham  party  in  house  of  commons,  187-191,  193  n.  1, 
238  ;  deserted  by  the  Bedfords,  191-192,  197  n.  1  ;  his  isolation  at  be- 
ginning of  1768,  200  ;  and  the  nullum  tempus  bill,  210  and  n.  2  ;  and 
the  Rockingham  whigs  in  the  autumn  of  1768,  245-246  ;  disclaims  all 
connection  with  the  Rockingham  whigs  in  1769,  264  and  n.  2  ;  and 
the  dinner  at  the  Thatched  House  Tavern,  273  ;  and  the  popular 
agitation  about  Wilkes,  280  and  «.  2,  287  and  n.  2  ;  reconciled  with 
Chatham,  282-286;  his  visit  to  Hayes  in  1768,  283  and  n.  2;  his  co- 
operation with  Rockingham  and  Chatham  in  parliamentary  session  of 
1770,  295,  325-326,  342  ;  and  Alexander  Wedderburn,  327  ;  and  the 
repeal  of  the  revenue  act,  348  ;  his  elections  act,  349-351,  351  n.  1  and 
2  ;  death  of,  364-367,  369;  see  also  22,  27,  29,  153,  156,  276,  279,  316, 
318-319,  355,435,436. 

Grenville,  James,  431. 


448    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

Grenville  party,  their  political  opinions,  59-60  ;  points  of  difference  with  the 
Rockingham  whigs,  60  ;  attitude  towards  the  Rockingham  whigs  in 
1766,  65  ;  and  the  embargo  upon  the  export  of  corn,  75  ;  and  the  East 
India  Company,  103-105,  124-125,  204-205,  205  n.  2  ;  and  the  Rock- 
ingham whigs  in  March  1767,  1 19-12 1  ;  and  the  colonial  policy  of  the 
administration,  133-141  ;  and  the  negotiations  of  July  1767,  158-159, 
163  ;  and  the  general  election  of  1768,  218  ;  effect  of  Grenville's  death 
upon,  369,  393,  396-398  ;  their  defection,  404-407  ;  see  also  63. 

Grenville-Temple,  Richard,  first  Earl  Temple  ;  see  Temple. 

Grey,  Jemima  Yorke,  Baroness  Lucas  of  Crudwell,  and  Marchioness  de,  and 
Mrs  Agneta  Yorke,  304  n.  2. 

Grimaldi,  Marquis,  and  the  dispute  over  the  Falkland  Islands,  375  n.  2, 
378-380,  382-384,  386-389,  398  and  n.  3,  403  n.  2. 

Guildhall,  meeting  in,  on  24th  June  1769,  277. 

Guilford,  Francis  North,  first  Earl  of,  321. 

Guines,  Comte  de,  French  ambassador  in  England,  408  n.  1. 

Gunnersbury  House,  meeting  of  Newcastle  and  Bedford  at,  in  1767,  178, 
179  n.  1. 

Halifax,  George  Montagu  Dunk,  second  Earl  of,  becomes  secretary  of  state, 

406. 
Hamilton,  Elizabeth  Douglas-Hamilton,  Dowager  Duchess  of,  224-225. 
Hampden,   Thomas,  and   the  parliamentary   election    at   Lewes   in    1768, 

215  n.  1. 
Hampstead,  Chatham  at,  11 5-1 16,    147,  194,  280  ;  Lord  Mansfield  at,  304  ; 

see  also  150,  235. 
Harcourt,  Simon  Harcourt,  first  Earl,  English  ambassador  in  France,  378, 

390,  398  n.  2,  399  n.  1,  402,  403  n.  2. 
Hardwicke,  Philip  Yorke,  first  Earl  of,  19,  22,  416. 
Hardwicke,  Philip  Yorke,  second  Earl  of,  his  opinion  of  the  first  Rockingham 

ministry,  37   n.  3  ;  and  the  negotiations  of  July  1767,  163,  173,  174; 

and  the  popular  agitation  on  behalf  of  Wilkes,  276  n.  1  ;  and  the  re- 
conciliation between  Chatham  and  the  Grenvilles  in  1769,  285  ;  and 

the  offer  of  the  chancellorship  to  Yorke,  300  n.  1,  301-302,  304-312,  304 

n.  2,  314  n.  2  and  3  ;  see  also  229,  283  n.  2,  299. 
Harris,  James,  afterwards  first  Earl  of  Malmesbury,  and  the  dispute  with 

Spain  over  the  Falkland  Islands,  377-391,  389  n.  1,  398  ;  recall  of,  400- 

403,  403  n.  2. 
Hastings,  borough  of,  and  the  general  election  of  1768,  214. 
Hawke,    Sir  Edward,  appointed   first  lord   of  the  admiralty,  87  ;  and  the 

repeal  of  the  revenue  act,  254-255  ;  and  the  navy  in  1770,  396  n.  4  ; 

resignation  of,  405-406. 
Hay,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Thomas,  and  the  parliamentary  election  at  Lewes 

in  1768,  215. 
Hayes,   Chatham  at,  235,  280  ;  Temple's  visits  to,  282-283,  283  n.  1  and  2  ; 

Grenville's  visit  to,  283  and  n.  2  ;  see  also  284,  293. 
Henley,  Robert,  first  Earl  of  Northington  ;  see  Northington. 
Henley,  Robert,  Lord  Henley,  247. 


INDEX  449 

Henry  VIII.,  252-253. 

Herbert,  Henry,  first  Earl  of  Carnarvon  ;  see  Carnarvon. 

Hertford,  Francis  Seymour  Conway,  first  Earl  of,  persuades  Henry  Conway 

not  to  resign  office,  85,  172  ;  and  the  negotiations  of  July  1767,  165  n.  1. 
Hertfordshire,  301  and  n.  4. 

Hervey,  Augustus,  afterwards  third  Earl  of  Bristol  ;  see  Bristol. 
Hervey,  George  William,  second  Earl  of  Bristol ;  see  Bristol. 
Highgate,  301  n.  4. 
High  Wickham,  287  n.  2. 

Hill,  Wills,  first  Earl  of  Hillsborough;  see  Hillsborough. 
Hillsborough,  Wills  Hill,  first  Earl  of,  secretary  of  state  for  the  colonies,  192, 

199  ;  his  character,  199 ;  George  III.'s  opinion  of,  ibid.;  and  the  American 

colonies,  252  ;  and  the  repeal  of  the  revenue  act,  254,  255  n.  1. 
Hobart,  John,  second  Karl  of  Buckinghamshire  ;  see  Buckinghamshire. 
Holland,  Henry  Fox,  first  Lord,  his  denunciation  of   Shelburne,  51  ;    his 

favourable  opinion  of  Gower,  199  n.  1  ;  see  also  278. 
Home,  Hugh,  third  Earl  of  Marchmont ;  see  Marchmont. 
Honiton,  attack  upon  the  Duke  of  Bedford  at,  279. 
Howard,  Henry,  twelfth  Earl  of  Suffolk  ;  see  Suffolk. 
Hunt,  Captain,  and  the  Falkland  Islands,  372  n.  1,  374,  384,  388-389,  389  n.  1, 

394,  395,  397,  412. 

Indemnity  act,  74-75,  88-89,  89  n.  2. 

India,  conquest  of,  28,  90  ;  see  also  East  India  Company. 

Inglewood  Forest,  lease  of,  granted  to  Sir  James  Lowther,  206-208. 

Ireland,  305,  415. 

Italy,  Wilkes  in,  219. 

Jacobites,  political  influence  of,  12. 

Jamaica,  395. 

James  I.,  209. 

James  II.,  1,  343- 

Jenkins,  Robert,  and  the  Spanish  war,  353. 

Jenkinson,  Sir  Charles,  appointed  to  a  place  on  the  admiralty  board,  87. 

Jesuit  of  Berkeley  Square,  nickname  of  Lord  Shelburne,  51. 

Johnson,  Dr  Samuel,  his  estimate  of  George  Grenville,  10  n.  1. 

Jones,  Mr,  president  of  the  Bill  of  Rights  Society,  277  n.  2. 

Junius,  20,  274,  293,  414-415- 

Keppel,  Augustus,  resignation  of,  84,  86,  87  ;  and  the  land  tax,  107  ;  and  the 
negotiations  of  July  1767,  167  ;  his  visit  to  Woburn  in  the  autumn  of 
1767,  183. 

Keppel,  George,  third  Earl  of  Albemarle  ;  see  Albemarle. 

Lambeth,  258 
Land  tax,  105-107,  106  n.  1. 

Languard  Fort,  command  of,  given  to  Colonel  Clavering,  345  n.  2. 
Legge,  William,  second  Earl  of  Dartmouth  ;  see  Dartmouth. 
2  F 


450    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

Lennox,  Charles,  third  Duke  of  Richmond  and  Lennox  ;  see  Richmond. 

Leveson-Gower,  Granville,  second  Earl  Gower  ;  see  Gower. 

Lewes,  parliamentary  election  at,  in  1768,  214-215,  215  n.  1. 

Libel,  law  of,  imperfections  in,  414-418  ;  difference  of  opinion  between 
Rockingham  and  Chatham  upon,  415-421  ;  parliamentary  debates  upon, 
421-432. 

Lincoln's  Inn  Fields,  167,  239. 

London,  Chatham's  return  to,  in  March  1767,  112-115  ;  and  the  general  elec- 
tion of  1768,  224  ;  petition  of  Livery  of,  276-277,  277  n.  1  ;  remonstrance 
of,  in  1770,  342-346  ;  struggle  with  the  house  of  commons,  433  ;  see  also 
149. 

Louis  XV.  and  the  Falkland  Islands,  399  and  n.  1,  401-402,  403  n.  2. 

Louis,  Port,  French  settlement  in  the  Falkland  Islands,  373  ;  surrendered  to 
Spain,  ibid. 

Lowther,  Sir  James,  his  character,  205  ;  granted  a  lease  of  Inglewood 
Forest,  205-208  ;  and  the  electioneering  contest  with  the  Duke  of 
Portland,  216-217,  216  n.  4,  248  n.  2 ;  unseated,  245,  248. 

Luggershall,  borough  of,  and  general  election  of  1768,  212. 

Lumley,  Richard,  fourth  Earl  of  Scarborough  ;  see  Scarborough. 

Luttrell,  Colonel,  269-271,  275-276,  277  n.  2,  299,  356. 

Lycett,  Mr,  and  the  Westminster  petition,  277  n.  2. 

Lyttelton,  George  Lyttelton,  first  Lord,  and  the  negotiations  of  July  1767, 
161  n.  1;  opinion  of  the  opposition  in  1767,  193  ;  and  the  East  India  Com- 
pany, 204  ;  and  the  reconciliation  between  Chatham  and  the  Grenvilles, 
286  ;  and  the  Falkland  Islands,  398  ;  see  also,  258  n.  2,  341  n.  1,  434. 

Macaulay,    Thomas    Babington,    first    Lord    Macaulay,   his    estimate    of 

Newcastle,  240. 
Magellan,  Strait  of,  372. 
Malagrida,  nickname  of  Shelburne,  51. 
Malouine  Islands,  404  ;  see  also  Falkland  Islands. 
Manchester,  George  Montagu,  fourth  Duke  of,  341  n.  1,  395. 
Mann,  Sir  Horace,  404. 

Manners,  John,  Marquis  of  Granby  ;  see  Granby. 
Mansfield,  William  Murray,  first  Earl  of,  and  the  suspending  power,   74 ; 

and  the  New  York  suspending  act,  138  ;  and  John  Wilkes,  226-227, 

226  n.  2  ;  and  Charles  Yorke,  304-306  ;  and  the  law  of  libel,  415-418, 

420,  421,  423-429,  426  n.  1  ;  see  also  183,  354. 
Marchmont,  Hugh  Home,  third  Earl  of,  moves  a  resolution  in  the  House 

of  Lords  on  2nd  February  1770,  336-337. 
Marlborough,  Chatham  at,  112. 
Marlborough,  John  Churchill,  first  Duke  of,  5-6. 
Martin,  Mr,  Serjeant  Glynn's  attorney,  277  n.  2. 
Massachusetts,  assembly  of,  128,  131,  133,  135  and  n.  2,  138,  144,  232-234, 

249,  252. 
Masserano,  Prince,  Spanish  ambassador  in  England,  and  the  dispute  over 

the  Falkland  Islands,   375,  377,  3^3,  384  and  n.  1,  386-391,  389  n.  1, 

402-403,  403  n.  2. 


INDEX  451 

Mawbey,  Sir  Joseph,  257. 

Meredith,  Sir  William,  resignation  of,  84,  87  ;  his  anxiety  for  co-operation 
with  the  Grenvilles  and  Bedford,  122  ;  and  the  East  India  Company, 
123-124;  and  the  nullum  tempus  bill,  210;  and  the  revenue  act, 
348  ;  and  the  law  of  libel,  422,  431  ;  see  also  22,  139,  326. 

Middlesex,  election  of  Wilkes  for,  224-226 ;  parliamentary  debates  upon  the 
election,  260-271,  290-291,  305,  329,  330-338,  353-355,  37°,  4*3-4i4> 
414  n.  1  ;  see  also  340,  343,  350,  406. 

Miller,  a  printer,  418. 

Miller,  Sir  John,  and  the  parliamentary  election  at  Lewes  in  1768,  216. 

Miller,  Thomas,  and  the  parliamentary  election  at  Lewes  in  1768,  215  n,  1. 

Minorca,  395. 

Monson,  John  Monson,  second  Lord,  resignation  of,  77,  80-84. 

Montagu,  George,  fourth  Duke  of  Manchester  ;  see  Manchester. 

Montagu,  John,  fourth  Earl  of  Sandwich  ;  see  Sandwich. 

Morden,  barony  of,  311. 

Morning  Advertiser,  414-415. 

Morris,  a  butcher  at  Lewes,  215. 

Mounier,  366. 

Mount  Stuart,  John  Stuart,  Lord,  87. 

Murray,  William,  first  Earl  of  Mansfield  ;  see  Mansfield. 

Mutiny  act,  extended  by  Grenville  to  America,  108  ;  resistance  to,  108,  128, 
130-132,  139. 

Napoleon  I.,  366. 

Navigation  acts,  108,  128. 

Newcastle,  Thomas  Pelham-Holles,  first  Duke  of,  his  character  and  political 
ability,  13-15,  16-18,  184//.  r  ;  in  coalition  ministry  with  Pitt,  5-6;  his 
skill  as  a  party  manager,  6,  22 ;  his  electioneering  influence  and 
methods,  14  and  n.  1  ;  his  manipulation  of  ecclesiastical  patronage, 
14  and  n.  2;  insecurity  of  his  predominance  in  1760,  15-16;  the 
founder  of  the  Rockingham  whig  party,  16-19,  241  ;  deprived  of  his 
lord-lieutenancies,  18  ;  his  anxiety  for  co-operation  with  Pitt,  29-30,  33, 
241  ;  his  uncharitable  explanation  of  Pitt's  reluctance  to  go  into 
opposition,  30;  and  the  negotiations  in  June  1765,  34;  his  opinion  of 
the  first  Rockingham  ministry,  38  ;  accepts  the  office  of  lord  privy 
seal  in  1765,  38;  opposed  to  the  declaratory  act,  38;  and  Conway  in 
the  first  Rockingham  ministry,  41  ;  anxious  to  avoid  opposition  to 
Chatham's  ministry,  67,  68  ;  opposed  to  the  secession  from  Chatham's 
ministry  in  November  1766,  80-81,  81  n.  1  ;  and  Lord  Bessborough, 
83-84  ;  and  the  East  India  Company,  94  ;  and  the  Bedford  party  in 
December  1766,  96-98;  his  anxiety  for  a  union  with  the  followers  of 
Grenville  and  Bedford  in  the  spring  of  1767,  104,  121-122;  and  the 
land  tax,  106  ;  and  the  Duke  of  Bedford's  motion  on  10th  April 
1767,  134;  his  visit  to  the  Duke  of  Bedford  on  14th  April  1767,  134- 
135  ;  his  estimate  of  strength  of  opposition  in  the  upper  house  in  the 
spring  of  1767,  136-137  ;  and  the  negotiations  of  July  1767,  161  ;/.  1, 
167-169,  173-174  ;  his  anxiety  for  union  of  parties  in  opposition  in  the 
2  F* 


452    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

autumn  of  1767,  176-184,  178  n.  2,  179  n.  1  ;  his  deceit  towards  Lord 
Rockingham,  183  n.  4  ;  his  opinion  of  Charles  Townshend,  185  ;  his 
interview  with  the  Duke  of  Bedford  in  November  1767,  188-190,  192- 
193  ;  his  partial  retirement  at  the  close  of  1767,  202  ;  and  the  general 
election  of  1768,  214-217,  215  n.  1 ;  and  John  Wilkes,  225-226,  229 
and  n.  1  ;  his  desire  to  avoid  opposition  in  the  first  session  of  the  new 
parliament,  229-230,  229  n.  1  ;  and  the  colonial  resistance  to  the  revenue 
act,  233,  239-241  ;  and  Lord  Rochford,  236  n.  1  ;  his  death,  239-241  ; 
see  also  23,  24,  26,  35,  40,  42,  61,  62,  136,  187,  291,  339,  436. 

Newcastle  House,  167,  169,  239. 

Newmarket,  21,  229. 

Newton,  Rev.  John,  274  n.  1. 

New  York,  province  of,  petition  against  the  navigation  acts,  108,  131  ; 
refuses  to  enforce  mutiny  act,  128,  130;  Chatham's  opinion  of,  130,-131  ; 
suspending  act,  138-141,  144;  see  also  132. 

Norfolk,  county  of,  278. 

North,  Francis,  first  Earl  of  Guilford  ;  see  Guilford. 

North,  Frederick  North,  Lord,  junior  lord  of  the  treasury  in  1759,  321  ; 
joint  paymaster-general  in  1766,  321  ;  refuses  the  chancellorship  of  the 
exchequer  in  the  spring  of  1767,  115  ;  becomes  chancellor  of  the  ex- 
chequer in  September  1767,  185  and  n.  2,  321  ;  leader  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  197  n.  1,  228  and  n.  3,  321  ;  and  the  revenue  act,  248,  254- 
255,  347-349  5  and  John  Wilkes,  260;  appointed  first  lord  of  the 
treasury,  317,  320,  321,  333  ;  his  character  and  political  opinions,  185- 
186,  321-324  ;  and  the  parliamentary  session  of  1770,  331,  334-338, 
342-346,  349-35°  5  reasons  for  his  success,  338-341  ;  and  Grenville's 
elections  act,  349-351,  35 J  »•  1  and  2  ;  prospects  of,  at  beginning  of  parlia- 
mentary session,  1770-177 1,  368-369,  391-393  ;  and  Weymouth's  resigna- 
tion, 400  ;  see  also  293  n.  2,  326,  327,  359,  370,  389  n.  1,  408,  411,  433, 
435- 

Northampton,  cost  of  parliamentary  election  at,  in  1768,  212. 

North  Briton,  218. 

Northington,  Robert  Henley,  first  Earl  of,  lord  chancellor,  38,  298  ;  political 
opinions  of,  38  ;  retires  from  the  first  Rockingham  ministry,  41-43  ; 
advises  the  king  to  send  for  Pitt,  44  ;  abandons  the  chancellorship  to 
become  lord  president  of  the  council,  44  n.  3,  52-53  ;  his  drunken 
habits,  53  n.  1,  184  and  n.  2  ;  visits  the  king  on  May  28th,  1767,  146  ; 
anxiety  to  resign,  149-150;  his  gloomy  views  upon  the  ministry  in 
1767,  184  and  n.  2  ;  retirement  of,  192  ;  see  also  55,  148,  150. 

Northumberland,  331. 

Norton,  Sir  Fletcher,  and  East  India  Company,  205  n.  2. 

Norwich,  assizes  at,  in  1769,  278. 

Nullum  tempus  act,  205-211,  244-245,  248  and  n.  2  ;  and  Charles  Yorke,  298 

Oliver,  Alderman,  424,  433. 

Olney,  274  n.  1. 

Onslow,  George,  81  n.  1,  193,  269. 

Oxford,  city  of,  and  general  election  of  1768,  213. 


INDEX  453 

Palmerston,  Henry  Temple,  second  Viscount,  210. 

Paris,  peace  of,  7-8,  18,  23,  26,  30,  38,  328. 

Parliament,  bribery  and  corruption  in,  11  ;/.  1  ;  influence  of  crown  upon,  2, 
7-13,  15-16,  18  ;  influence  of  public  opinion  upon,  25-27  ;  demand  for 
reform  of,  329,  360,  362. 

Patriot  king,  Bolingbroke's,  4-5,  212. 

Paulett,  Harry,  sixth  Duke  of  Bolton  ;  see  Bolton. 

Peace  of  Paris  ;  see  Paris. 

Pelham,  Sir  Thomas,  215. 

Pelham-Holles,  Thomas,  first  Duke  of  Newcastle  ;  see  Newcastle. 

Pennsylvania,  petition  of,  to  parliament,  249. 

Perceval,  John,  second  Earl  of  Egmont  ;  see  Egmont. 

Percy,  Hugh  Percy,  Lord,  331. 

Petitioners,  276  and  n.  1. 

Phipps,  Captain  Constantine,  and  the  law  of  libel,  422-423,  431. 

Pitt,  William,  first  Earl  of  Chatham  ;  see  Chatham. 

Plumptre,  Dr,  312. 

Poland,  partition  of,  71. 

Ponsonby,  William,  second  Earl  of  Bessborough  ;  see  Bessborough. 

Ponton,  Daniel,  258. 

Portland,  William  Henry  Cavendish  Bentinck,  third  Duke  of,  a  member  of 
the  Rockingham  party,  22  ;  resignation  of,  80-84  >  his  opinion  of  Pitt's 
alliance  with  Lord  Bute's  followers,  88  ;  and  the  overtures  to  the  Bedford 
party  in  December  1766,  97  ;  and  the  Duke  of  Bedford's  motion  in  the 
House  of  Lords  on  10th  April  1767,  134  ;  and  the  negotiations  of  July 
1767,  161  n.  1  ;  and  the  desire  for  the  union  of  parties  in  opposition  in 
the  autumn  of  1767,  180  n.  2  ;  and  the  electioneering  struggle  with  Sir 
James  Lowther,  205-211,  216-217,  216  ;/.  4,  248  n.  2  ;  see  also  61,  156  n. 

h  173,  177,  179.  182,  216,  357. 
Pratt,  Charles,  first  Earl  Camden  ;  see  Camden. 
Prussia  ;  see  Frederick  the  Great. 
Pulteney,  William,  first  Earl  of  Bath ;  see  Bath. 


"  Reflections  on  the  French  Revolution,"  Edmund  Burke's,  360. 

Revenue  act  and  Charles  Townshend,  140-145;  resistance  to,  in  America, 
232-234;  partial  repeal  of,  254-255,  255  ;/.  1,  347-349;  see  also  250- 
252. 

Revolution  of  1688,  1. 

Richmond,  Charles  Lennox,  third  Duke  of,  becomes  secretary  of  state  in 
1766,  40-41  ;  dismissed  by  Pitt,  45  ;  and  New  York  suspending  act,  138  ; 
and  the  negotiations  of  July  1767,  167,  174  ;  and  the  general  election  in 
1768,  215  n.  1,  216;  and  John  Wilkes,  225,  229  ;  and  colonial  policy, 
253  ;  his  desire  to  abandon  opposition  in  1770,  352  ;  and  the  Falkland 
Islands,  394,  409,  410 ;  and  the  law  of  libel,  427  n.  1,  428-430,  428  n.  1  ; 
see  also  40  ;/.  1,  325,  341  and  n.  1,  357,  358  n.  4,  397  n.  1. 

Ridleys  of  Northumberland,  331. 


454    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

Rigby,  Richard,  his  character,  59  ;  and  the  embargo  upon  the  exportation  of 
corn,  75  ;  offered  the  post  of  cofferer,  86  ;  and  the  indemnity  bill,  89  n. 
2  ;  and  the  East  India  Company,  104  and  n.  1  ;  and  the  negotiations  of 
July  1767,  162-163,  167-169  ;  and  the  Rockingham  whigs  in  the  autumn 
of  1767,  177,  183  and  n.  4  ;  becomes  vice-treasurer  of  Ireland,  192,  196  ; 
and  John  Wilkes,  263  ;  and  the  petitions  of  1769,  278  ;  and  the  elections 
act,  350. 

Rights,  Bill  of,  16. 

Rights,  Bill  of,  Society  of,  274-275,  277  n.  2,  360,  362,  423. 

Robinson,  Thomas,  first  Lord  Grantham  ;  see  Grantham. 

Rochford,  William  Henry  Zulestein,  fourth  Earl  of,  succeeds  Shelburne  as 
secretary  of  state,  236  and  n.  1  ;  his  colonial  policy,  ibid.  ;  and  the  repeal 
of  the  revenue  act,  254  ;  becomes  secretary  of  state  for  the  southern 
department,  398  n.  2,  400 ;  and  the  Falkland  Islands,  400-404,  408  n.  1, 
410. 

Rockingham,  Charles  Watson-Wentworth,  second  Marquis  of,  his  character 
and  political  ability,  20-22,  S37,  98,  201  and  n.  1  ;  weakness  of  his 
ministry,  35-40,  37  n.  3,  41  ;  and  Conway  in  his  first  ministry,  41  ;  forces 
the  Duke  of  Richmond  upon  the  king,  41  ;  fall  of  his  first  ministry,  36- 
44,  199  ;  relations  with  Pitt  (1765-1766),  38-40;  and  Lord  Northington, 
40-43  ;  his  opinion  of  the  transference  of  Conway  to  the  southern 
department,  50-51  ;  and  his  resignation  of  the  treasury,  61  n.  2  ;  his 
views  on  Sir  Charles  Saunders  accepting  office,  67  and  n.  1  ,  anxious 
to  avoid  opposition,  67  ;  and  dismissal  of  Lord  Edgecumbe,  78-79,  79  n. 
1  ;  in  favour  of  secession  from  Chatham's  ministry,  81  ;  and  Lord  Bess- 
borough,  83-84  ;  and  the  indemnity  bill,  89  n.  2  ;  and  the  East  India 
Company,  94,  104-105  ;  in  favour  of  opposition,  95  ;  opposed  to  over- 
tures to  Bedford  in  December  1766,  97  ;  and  colonial  policy,  107,  108, 
135  n.  2,  137-141,  143-144  ;  inclined  towards  union  with  Grenville  and 
Bedford  in  the  spring  of  1767,  122,  133  ;  supports  the  ministry  in  House 
of  Lords  on  10th  April  1767,  134  ;  dislike  of  Grenville,  119-121,  122  n.  3, 
173-176,  180-182  ;  meeting  with  Lord  Gower  on  3rd  May  1767, 135  ;  co- 
operation with  Grenville  and  Bedford  in  1767,  152-153;  and  the 
negotiations  of  July  1767,  154-177,  155  n.  2,  158  n.  1  and  2,  159  n.  2,  171 
n.  1,  172  11.  1  ;  his  partiality  for  Conway,  168-169,  173-174,  177-178,  178 
n.  2,  180  and  n.  2,  182,  183  ;  relations  with  Bedford  and  Grenville  in 
the  autumn  of  1767,  180  n.  2  ;  anxious  to  attack  ministry  in  autumn 
session  of  1767,  186  ;  his  declaration  against  Grenville,  187,  189,  238  ; 
rupture  with  the  Bedford  party,  187-191  ;  political  weakness  of,  at  be- 
ginning of  1768,  200-201  ;  determines  to  continue  opposition,  201  ;  and 
the  nullum  tempus  bill,  208-211,  209  n.  2;  and  the  general  election  ot 
1768,  211-218;  and  John  Wilkes,  219,  230  n.  1,  258;  and  the  prepara- 
tions for  the  autumn  session  of  1768,  244-246  ;  and  the  popular  agitation 
about  Wilkes,  280,  287,  340-341  ;  opposed  to  overtures  to  Chatham  and 
Grenville  in  1769,  288-290  ;  co-operation  with  Chatham  and  Grenville  in 
parliamentary  session  of  1770,  295,  325-326,  327  and  n.  1  ;  and  Charles 
Yorke,  42-44?  3°°  «■  3>  3°3'  3°5>  3°7,  3°9>  3Jo;  antagonism  of  George 
III.  to,  320 ;  speaks  against  the  ministry  in  the  House  of  Lords,  1770; 


INDEX  455 

327-330,  336,  342  ;  his  disappointment  at  failure  of  attack  upon  the 
ministry,  335  •  and  the  remonstrance  of  the  City  of  London  in  1776,  344, 
345  n.  1  ;  Chatham's  adherence  to  in  1770,  340-342,  346-347,  363, 392  and 
;/.  1  ;  and  the  address  for  the  dissolution  of  parliament,  355-359,  358  n. 
3  and  4  ;  and  the  Yorkshire  remonstrance,  363-364  ;  and  the  Falkland 
Islands,  392-398  ;  and  the  law  of  libel,  419-421,  427-430,  428  n.  1  ;  his 
breach  with  Lord  Chatham,  433-436  ;  see  also  19,  40,  62,  136,  229,  276, 
279.  3J6,  3X9,  32i,  341  n.  1,  352,  362,  364  n.  2,  407,  434  and  n.  3. 

Rockingham  whigs,  origin  of,  16-18;  and  the  Peace  of  Paris,  18,38;  in 
opposition  to  the  crown,  18-19,  22-24,  26-27  >  and  public, opinion,  26-27  ; 
and  William  Pitt,  29-30;  and  the  party  system,  31  ;  and  the  negotia- 
tions of  May  1765,  34  ;  in  office,  35-44  ;  their  original  attitude  towards 
Chatham's  administration,  59-63,  67,  68  ;  their  differences  with  the 
followers  of  Bedford  and  Grenville,  60,  65  ;  and  Grafton  and  Conway, 
67-69,  68  n.  2  ;  and  the  embargo  upon  the  export  of  corn,  73-75  ;  and 
the  secession  from  Chatham's  ministry,  75-86 ;  prepared  to  go  into 
opposition,  86,  89,  95  ;  and  the  indemnity  bill,  89  ;  and  the  East  India 
Company,  94,  97,  103-105,  123-125,  203-205  ;  and  the  overtures  to  the 
Bedford  party  in  December  1766,  95-98  ;  and  the  land  tax,  105-107  ; 
and  the  negotiations  with  Bedford  and  Grenville  in  March  1767, 
119-121  ;  improvement  of  their  relations  with  Bedford  and  Grenville, 
121-122,  124-125,  133-141,  147  ;  and  the  Duke  of  Bedford's  motion  in 
the  House  of  Lords  on  10th  April  1767,  133-134  ;  and  Conway,  134; 
their  inclusion  in  the  ministry  suggested  by  Grafton  in  May  1767,  148- 
149;  and  George  III.,  149;  and  the  negotiations  of  July  1767,  154- 
176;  their  dislike  of  Grenville  and  his  followers,  160;  attacked  by 
Grenville  in  the  House  of  Commons,  187-188  ;  their  rupture  with  the 
Bedford  party,  187-191  ;  apathy  of,  at  beginning  of  1768,  200;  deter- 
mination to  continue  in  opposition,  202-203 ;  and  the  nullum  tempus 
bill,  205-211  ;  and  the  general  election  of  1768,  218  ;  and  John  Wilkes, 
38,229,  230,  246;  anxious  to  refrain  from  opposition  in  first  session  of  the 
new  parliament,  229-230 ;  tendency  to  favour  coercion  of  the  colonies, 
238-239  ;  and  the  Duke  of  Grafton,  242  ;  their  programme  for  the 
autumn  session  of  1768,  244-246  ;  and  George  Grenville,  245-246,  264 
and  n.  2  ;  and  the  declaratory  act,  250 ;  and  the  revenue  act,  251  ;  and 
the  Middlesex  election,  258  ;  and  overtures  to  Grenville  in  1769,  272- 
273,  280  ;  and  the  popular  agitation  on  behalf  of  Wilkes,  276,  279  ;  their 
fears  at  Chatham's  return  to  political  life,  281-282,  286-287  ;  and  the 
Grenville  party  in  1769,  287-291  ;  and  the  offer  of  the  chancellorship  to 
Charles  Yorke,  300  ;  tendency  to  drift  apart  from  Chatham  in  1770,  341 
and  n.  1,  344,  346-347,  359-3°°,  363-364,  397  «•  1  ;  and  the  repeal  of  the 
revenue  act,  347-349  ;  and  the  address  for  the  dissolution  of  parliament 
in  1770,  355-359,  358  n.  3  and  4  ;  and  the  Falkland  Islands,  392-398,  408- 
413  ;  and  the  law  of  libel,  419-432  ;  breach  with  Chatham,  432-436  ;  see 
also  363  n.  1,  366 

Rotterdam,  256. 

Runnymede,  294. 

Russell,  John,  fourth  Duke  of  Bedford  ;  see  Bedford. 


456    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

Russia  and  an  alliance  with  England,  55,  71. 
Rye  and  the  General  Election  of  1768,  214. 

Sackville,  Lord  George,  and  the  colonies,  108  ;  and  the  death  of  George 
Grenville,  366-367  ;  and  the  Falkland  Islands,  397. 

St  Jame?  Chronicle,  259. 

St  John,  Henry,  first  Viscount  Bolingbroke  ;  see  Bolingbroke. 

St  Paul,  Horace,  secretary  to  the  English  embassy  at  Paris,  408  ;/.  1. 

Sandwich,  John  Montagu,  fourth  Earl  of,  his  character  and  political  ability, 
59,  197-198;  and  negotiations  of  July  1767,  167;  takes  office  in 
the  ministry,  192  and  n.  2,  196;  nickname  of  Jemmy  Twitcher,  198; 
and  John  Wilkes,  60,  198,  244;  and  East  India  Company,  204;  his 
opinion  of  the  condition  of  the  navy  in  1770,  396  n.  4;  becomes 
secretary  of  state  for  the  northern  department,  400 ;  becomes  first 
lord  of  the  admiralty,  405-406,  406  n.  1,  see  also  336. 

Saunders,  Sir  Charles,  a  member  of  the  Rockingham  party,  67,  394 ; 
becomes  first  lord  of  the  admiralty,  67,  394  ;  resignation  of,  84,  86,  87  ; 
and  the  Falkland  Islands,  394. 

Savile,  Sir  George,  and  the  New  York  act,  140  ;  and  the  nullum  tempus 
bill,  209-210,  216  ;  and  the  revenue  act,  233;  and  the  remonstrance  of 
the  Yorkshire  freeholders,  364;  and  the  Middlesex  election,  414  ;  and 
the  law  of  libel,  425,  430  ;   see  also,  22,  139,  326. 

Sawbridge,  John,  345. 

Scarborough,  Richard  Lumley,  fourth  Earl  of,  resignation  of,  80-84. 

Scotch,  widespread  dislike  of,  6  ;  Wilkes'  hatred  of,  224  ;  charged  with 
disloyalty,  415. 

Sedgwick,  Edward,  his  approval  of  the  revenue  act,  144 ;  see  also  335 
and  n.  5. 

Selwyn,  George,  and  the  general  election  of  1768,  212. 

Senhouse,  Mr,  and  the  Cumberland  election,  248  n.  2. 

Settlement,  Act  of,  16. 

Seven  Years'  War,  7,  28,  72,  90,  371,  376. 

Shelburne,  William  Fitzmaurice,  second  Earl  of,  his  character  and  political 
opinions,  51-52  ;  a  member  of  Grenville's  ministry,  8  ;  declines  a  place 
in  the  first  Rockingham  ministry,  51  ;  appointed  secretary  of  state  for 
the  southern  department,  51  ;  and  the  colonies,  55,  109,  130,  132,  234; 
ceases  to  attend  cabinet  councils  in  March  1767,  11 8- 119,  234  ;  disliked  by 
his  ministerial  colleagues,  145  and  ti.  1,  234 ;  objects  to  the  creation  of 
a  third  secretaryship  of  state,  192  n.  1  ;  his  discontent  with  the  ministry, 
196,  197  n.  1,  234  ;  and  Corsica,  234  ;  threatened  expulsion  of,  234-235  ; 
resignation  of,  235  ;  opposed  to  the  Buckinghamshire  petition,  287  n.  2  ; 
and  the  dismissal  of  Lord  Camden,  300  n.  2  ;  anxious  to  oppose  the 
administration  in  1770,  326;  and  the  Rockingham  whigs  in  1770,  346- 
347  ;  and  the  Falkland  Islands,  395;  and  the  law  of  libel,  424,  430; 
see  also  101,  341  n.  1,  435. 

Shelley,  Sir  John,  appointed  treasurer  of  the  household,  75-76. 

Shropshire,  256. 

Smollet,  Tobias  George,  his  picture  of  the  Duke  of  Newcastle,  240. 


INDEX  457 

Soledad,  Port,  373,  374. 

Sons  of  Liberty,  of  Boston,  and  Wilkes,  256. 

South  Sea  Bubble,  92. 

Spain,  war  with,  25,  353  ;  allied  with  France  by  the  family  compact  of  1761, 
70,  376  ;  and  the  claim  to  the  exclusive  possession  of  the  Falkland 
Islands,  371-373  ;  attack  upon  English  settlement  in  Falkland  Islands, 
370,  374-375  ;  negotiations  with  England  concerning  Falkland  Islands, 
375  n.  2,  375-391,  389  n.  1 ,  398-404,  403  7i.  2,  408-412,408  n.  1  ;  relations 
with  France,  376,  378-382,  386-388,  390-391,  398-399,  402  and  «.  3,  403  n. 
2,  410-41 1,  410  n.  1. 

Stamp  act,  repeal  of,  36,  96,  107-108,  in,  129,  133,  250  ;  and  Lord  Granby, 
55  ;  and  Charles  Townshend,  55  ;  and  Lord  Chatham,  46,  no,  131  ; 
see  also  47,  60,  96,  128,  143,  144,  167-168,  175,  232-233,  365. 

Stanhope,  Philip  Dormer,  fourth  Earl  of  Chesterfield  ;  see  Chesterfield. 

Stanley,  James  Smith,  Lord  Strange  ;  see  Strange. 

Stowe,  Rigby  at,  162  ;  Lord  Chatham's  visit  to,  285  ;  see  also  163. 

Strange,  James  Smith  Stanley,  Lord,  and  Wilkes,  266. 

Stuart,  John,  Lord  Mount  Stuart ;  see  Mount  Stuart. 

Stuart,  John,  third  Earl  of  Bute  ;  see  Bute. 

Suffolk,  Henry  Howard,  twelfth  Earl  of,  341  n.  1  ;  succeeds  George  Grenville 
as  leader  of  the  Grenville  party,  405  ;  becomes  lord  privy  seal,  405- 
406. 

"  Supporters  of  the  Bill  of  Rights,"  274-275,  277  n  2,  360,  362,  423. 

Suspending  power,  73-75. 

Tamar,  the  frigate,  374. 

Temple,  Henry,  second  Viscount  Palmerston  ;  see  Palmerston. 

Temple,  Richard  Grenville-Temple,  first  Earl,  refuses  to  take  office  in  1765, 
34-35  ;  declines  the  treasury  in  1766,  45-49,  46  n.  1,  61  ;  and  the 
colonies,  46,  49  ;  and  Pitt's  peerage,  58  n.  1  ;  and  the  embargo  upon  the 
export  of  corn,  73-75  ;  his  claim  to  the  treasury  in  December  1766,  96  ; 
his  claim  to  supremacy  in  any  ministry,  154;  and  the  negotiations  of 
July  1767,  161  and  n.  1,  162, 163,  167  ;  his  opinion  upon  the  accession  of 
the  Bedford  party  to  the  ministry,  197  n.  1  ;  and  the  East  India  Company, 
204  ;  his  anxiety  for  a  reconciliation  between  the  Rockingham  and 
Grenville  whigs,  246  ;  and  the  dinner  at  the  Thatched  House  Tavern, 
273  ;  his  reconciliation  with  Chatham  in  1768- 1769,  282-286  ;  his  visits 
to  Hayes,  283  n.  1  and  2  ;  and  the  Buckinghamshire  petition,  287 
and  n.  2  ;  in  favour  of  co-operation  with  the  Rockingham  whigs  in  1769, 
288-290  ;  predicts  the  dismissal  of  Camden,  295-296  ;  in  favour  of  co- 
operation with  Rockingham  in  1770,  325-326,  327  and  n.  1  ;  his  anger 
against  the  Rockingham  whigs  in  1770,341  and  n.  1  ;  and  Grenville's 
elections  bill,  351  n.  1  and  2  ;  his  political  inactivity  after  the  death  of 
George  Grenville,  393,  397,  4°7  ;  see  also  60,  136,  153,  156,  161,  179 
n.  1,  358,  405,  434  and  n.  2. 

Thatched  House  Tavern,  273,  276. 

"  Thoughts  on  the  Cause  of  the  Present  Discontents,"  360-363. 

Thurlow,  Edward,  becomes  attorney-general,  405. 


458    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

Thynne,  Thomas,  third  Viscount  Weymouth  ;  see  Weymouth. 

Tonnereau,  George  Leigh,  213  n.  4. 

Townshend,  Charles,  in  opposition  to  the  court,  23  ;  made  chancellor  of  the 
exchequer  in  1766,  53  ;  his  character  and  political  ability,  54  ;  excluded 
from,  but  afterwards  admitted  into,  the  inner  cabinet,  54  and  n.  3  ;  and 
the  American  colonies,  55, 110-112, 140-145,  232-233,  250  ;  and  the  East 
India  Company,  94,  99-100,  100  n.  1, 101-103,  124  n.  3,  124-125,  127  ;  in- 
dependent position  in  the  ministry,  99,  in,  112,  116-119,  145-146;  and 
the  land  tax,  105-107  ;  attempt  to  remove  him  from  office,  115  ;  his 
insincerity,  118  n.  1  ;  anxiety  to  resign,  150;  his  death,  184-185  ;  the 
Duke  of  Newcastle's  and  Lord  Buckinghamshire's  opinion  of,  185  and 
n.  1  ;  see  also  199  n.  1,  332. 

Townshend,  Charles,  of  Honingham,  81  n.  1. 

Townshend,  James,  345. 

Townshend,  Thomas,  81  n.  1. 

Tumour,  Edward,  first  Earl  Winterton  ;  see  Winterton. 

Twitcher,  Jemmy,  nickname  of  Lord  Sandwich,  198. 

Virginia,  249. 

Waldegrave,  James  Waldegrave,  second  Earl,  2. 

Wales,  Frederick  Prince  of,  1 1  n.  1 

Wales,  Princess  of,  2. 

Walpole,  Horace,  persuades  Conway  to  remain  in  office  in  1766,  85  ;  his 
estimate  of  Chatham's  success,  93  ;  and  the  negotiations  of  July  1767, 
165  n.  1,  167  n.  1,  172  ;  his  opinion  of  the  first  parliament  of  George 
III.'s  reign,  211-212  ;  unfavourable  estimate  of  Lord  Rochford,  236  n.  1  ; 
unfavourable  opinion  of  Rockingham  and  Grenville,  279;  his  views  on  the 
opposition  in  1769,  ibid.;  and  parliamentary  reform,  329  n.  1  ;  and  Lord 
North,  333,  335  ;  and  the  parliamentary  session  of  1770,  337  n.  2,  338, 
345  ;  and  the  defection  of  the  Grenvilles,  404-405  ;  his  opinion  of  Lord 
Halifax,  406  ;  see  also  207,  327  n.  1,  359,  364  n.  2,  403  n.  2,  426  n.  1. 

Walpole,  Robert,  secretary  to  the  English  embassy  at  Paris,  378,  379-381, 
387-388,  389  n.  1. 

Walpole,  Sir  Robert,  opposition  to,  25,  392,  408,  413  ;  fall  of,  in  1742,  26  ; 
betrayed  by  Newcastle,  240 ;  see  also  29,  204,  353,  371,  376,  378. 

Warrants,  general,  use  of,  objected  to,  23  ;  illegality  of,  36,  219,  221  ;  see 
also  30,  175. 

Watson,  Dr,  and  Charles  Yorke,  311,  312,  314. 

Watson- Wentworth,  Charles,  second  Marquis  of  Rockingham  ;  see  Rocking- 
ham. 

Wedderburn,  Alexander,  and  Lord  Camden,  242  n.  1  ;  and  Wilkes,  271,  327  ; 
in  opposition,  326-327  ;  and  the  remonstrance  of  the  city  of  London  in 
1770,  345  J  and  tne  repeal  of  the  revenue  act,  348  ;  and  the  Falkland 
Islands,  397  ;  accepts  the  office  of  solicitor-general,  404-407,  404  n.  2. 

Welbore  Ellis,  422. 

Wesley,  John,  William  Pitt  compared  with,  27. 

West,  James,  202. 


INDEX  459 

Westminster,  petition  of  electors  of,  277-278,  277  n.  2. 

Westminster  Hall,  meeting  in,  277  n.  2  ;  see  also  424. 

Westmoreland,  electioneering  influence  of  Lowther  and  Portland  in,  205- 
206,  216-217. 

Weston-Underwood,  Charles  Fleetwood,  335. 

Weymouth,  Thomas  Thynne,  third  Viscount,  his  character  and  ability,  59, 
198  ;  offered  the  place  of  postmaster,  86  ;  and  the  negotiations  of  July 
1767,  157,  164  n.  2,  167  ;  becomes  secretary  of  state,  192,  196  ;  and  the 
East  India  Company,  204  ;  and  the  revenue  act,  254  ;  attacked  by 
Wilkes,  258-263  ;  and  the  dispute  with  Spain  over  the  Falkland  Islands, 
376-380,  382-391,  389  n.  1  ;  resignation  of,  398  n.  2,  399-400 ;  see  also 

243,  317,  336. 

Whately,  Thomas,  and  the  accession  of  the  Bedford  party  to  the  ministry, 
197  n.  1  ;  and  Burke  in  1769,  287  ;  appointed  a  commissioner  of  the 
board  of  trade,  405  ;  see  also  228  n.  3. 

White's  club,  23. 

Wigan  and  the  general  election  of  1768,  217. 

Wilkes,  John,  defended  by  the  Rockingham  whigs  in  1763- 1764,  38  ; 
betrayed  by  Lord  Sandwich,  198  ;  character  and  political  opinions  of, 
219  ;  his  arrest  and  expulsion  from  the  house  of  commons,  1763-1764, 
219  ;  in  exile,  ibid.  ;  visits  England  in  1766,  ibid.  ;  refused  a  pardon, 
220-222  ;  his  return  to  Paris,  221  ;  his  attack  upon  Chatham  and  the 
ministry,  222-223  \  arrives  in  England,  February  1768,  223  ;  stands  for 
election,  1768,  223-225  ;  riots  connected  with  his  election,  224-225,  231, 
258-259;  sentence  passed  upon  him,  226-230,  226  n.  2;  parliamentary 
attack  upon,  227-231,  242,  244-245,  247,  255-271,  257  n.  1  ;  and  his 
admirers,  256  ;  and  Lord  Weymouth,  258-263  ;  popular  agitation  on 
behalf  of,  273-280,  274  n.  1  ;  and  Lord  Granby,  295  ;  and  Charles 
Yorke,  298-299  ;  and  Wedderburn,  327  ;  loss  of  popular  interest  in,  338, 
34o,  353,  37o,  407,  414  »•  1  ;   see  also,  23,  26,  33,  175,  292,  295,  328,  331, 

345,  356,  365,  4I3-4I4- 
Wilmot,  Lord  Chief  Justice,  and  Charles  Yorke,  306. 
Wilson,  Dr,  Prebendary  of  Westminster,  277  n.  2. 
Wiltshire,  petition  of,  in  1769,  278. 
Winchelsea,  Daniel  Finch,  eighth  Earl  of,  156  n.  1. 
Winterton,  Edward  Tumour,  first  Earl,  202. 
Woburn,  Albemarle  at,  160-161,  183  ;  Rockingham  at,  162,  174  ;    Keppel  at, 

183  ;  see  also  97,  156,  163. 
Woodfall,  Henry,  libel  suit  against,  415-416,  418,  426. 
Worcestershire,  petition  of,  in  1769,  278  and  n.  2. 
Wotton,  Rigby  at,  in    1767,    162  ;    Chatham's  visit   to,  in  1769,  285  ;    see 

also  163. 

Yorke,  Agneta,  and  the  last  days  of  Charles  Yorke,  302-314 ;  her  hostility 
towards  Lord  Rockingham,  300  n.  3,  314  n.  3;  and  towards  Lord 
Hardwicke,  304  n.  2,  314  n.  3. 

Yorke,  Charles,  attorney-general  in  Rockingham's  first  ministry,  43  ;  his 
legal  reputation,  43  ;  and  the  Whig  opposition,  1 762-1 765,  43,  297-299  ; 


460    LORD  CHATHAM  AND  THE  WHIG  OPPOSITION 

and  John  Wilkes,  43,  298-299  ;  promised  the  lord  chancellorship  in 
1765,  43  ;  considered  for  the  lord  chancellorship  in  1766,  43-44,  43  n. 
1  ;  his  anxiety  to  become  chancellor,  52,  156-157,  157  n.  1,  296-298  ; 
resigns  the  office  of  attorney-general,  61  and  n.  7  ;  and  the  East  India 
Company,  94,  104,  298  ;  and  the  land  tax,  106-107  ;  and  the  colonies, 
138,  140;  and  the  negotiations  of  July  1767,  164  n.  1  ;  and  the  nullum 
tempus  act,  210,  298  ;  and  Lord  Chatham,  281  ;  discontent  with  the 
Rockingham  whigs,  298-300,  300  n.  1  ;  and  Lord  Rockingham,  300 
n.  3  ;  his  health  at  the  beginning  of  1770,  301  and  n.  4  ;  and  the  offer 
of  the  lord  chancellorship  in  1770,  301-313  ;  his  death,  312-315  ;  see 
also  163,  246,  283  n.  2,  319,  320. 

Yorke,  Jemima,  Baroness  Lucas  of  Crudwell  and  Marchioness  de  Grey  ;  see 
Grey. 

Yorke,  John,  prophesies  predominance  of  the  Bedfords  in  the  ministry,  197 
n.  1  ;  his  opinions  of  the  prospects  of  the  opposition  at  the  beginning 
of  1770,  291  ;  and  the  offer  of  the  chancellorship  to  Charles  Yorke,  300 
n.  1,  301-304,  309,  310,  312. 

Yorke,  Philip,  first  Earl  of  Hardwicke  ;  see  Hardwicke. 

Yorke,  Philip,  second  Earl  of  Hardwicke  ;  see  Hardwicke. 

Yorkshire,  Rockingham's  electioneering  influence  in,  216,  364  ;  remonstrance 
of  freeholders  of,  363-364. 

Zulestein,  William  Henry,  fourth  Earl  of  Rochford  ;  see  Rochford. 


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